THE  WORKS  OF 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


GIFT  OF 

FREDERIC  THOMAS  BLANCHARD 

FOR  THE 
ENGLISH  READING  ROOM 


' 


SIR    FRANCIS    DRAKE 

From  an  Engraving  by  Freeman 

B.  1540,  d.  1596.  The  intrepid  adventurer 
served  as  Vice-Admiral  under  Lord  Howard 
in  the  fighting  which  resulted  in  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  Armada.  The  story  is  told  that  he 
kept  Lord  Howard  from  putting  to  sea  until 
they  had  finished  their  game  of  bowls,  saying: 
"There's  plenty  of  time  to  win  the  game  and 
thrash  the  Spaniards,  too."  Of  the  195  ships 
in  the  English  fleet  34  merchant  ships  were 
under  Drake." 

— "  Westward  Ho  !" 
Vol.  II,  p.  372 


THE     BIDEFORD     EDITION 


NOVELS,    POEMS  &•>  LETTERS 
OF   CHARLES    KINGSLEY 


Westward  Ho! 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW  YORK   AND  LONDON 

THE    CO-OPERATIVE 
PUBLICATION  SOCIETY 


Copyright,  1899 
BY  J.  F.  TAYLOR  &  COMPANY 


Westward,  Ho! 
Volume  1. 


TO 

THE  RAJAH   SIR  JAMES    BROOKE,  K.C.B. 

AND 

GEORGE    AUGUSTUS   SELWYN,  D.D. 

BISHOP    OF    NEW    ZEALAND 

THIS  BOOK  IS  DEDICATED 

By  one  who  (unknown  to  them)  has  no  other  method 
of  expressing  his  admiration  and  reverence  for  theii 
characters. 

That  type  of  English  virtue,  at  once  manful  and 
godly,  practical  and  enthusiastic,  prudent  and  self- 
sacrificing,  which  he  has  tried  to  depict  in  these  pages, 
they  have  exhibited  in  a  form  even  purer  and  more 
heroic  than  that  in  which  he  has  drest  it,  and  than  that 
in  which  it  was  exhibited  by  the  worthies  whom  Eliza- 
beth, without  distinction  of  rank  or  age,  gathered  round 
her  in  the  ever  glorious  wars  of  her  great  reign. 

C.  K. 

FEBRUARY,  1855. 


Vol.  8—1 


•'DUX   FCEMINA   FACTI" 

Mctto  of  the  Armada  Medals,  IjSS 


CONTENTS 

VOLUME    I 

PAOl 

INTRODUCTION ix 

CHAPTER 

I.    HOW  MR.  OXENHAM   SAW  THE  WHITE  BlRD      ...  I 

II.  How  AMYAS  CAME  HOME  THE  FIRST  TIME      ...      27 

III.  OF  Two  GENTLEMEN  OF  WALES,  AND  HOW  THEY 

HUNTED   WITH  THE    HOUNDS,   AND   YET   RAN 

WITH  THE  DEER     .....             73 

IV.  THE  Two  WAYS  OF  BEING  CROST  IN  LOVE     ...  99 
V.  CLOVELLY  COURT  IN  THE  OLDEN  TIME 135 

VI.  THE  COMBES  OF  THE  FAR  WEST 172 

VII.  THE  TRUE  AND  TRAGICAL  HISTORY  OF  MR.  JOHN 

OXENHAM  OF  PLYMOUTH 184 

VIII.  How  THE  NOBLE  BROTHERHOOD  OF  THE  ROSE  WAS 

FOUNDED 245 

IX.  How  AMYAS  KEPT  HIS  CHRISTMAS  DAY      ....     270 
X.  How  THE  MAYOR  OF  BIDEFORD  BAITED  HIS  HOOK 

WITH  HIS  OWN  FLESH 320 

XI.  How  EUSTACE  LEIGH  MET  THE  POPE'S  LEGATE      .    336 
XII.  How     BIDEFORD     BRIDGE    DINED    AT    ANNERY 

HOUSE 361 

XIII.  How  THE  GOLDEN  HIND  CAME  HOME  AGAIN     .    .    400 

XIV.  How   SALVATION   YEO  SLEW  THE  KING  OF  THE 

GUBBINGS 413 

XV.  How  MR.  JOHN   BRIMBLECOMBE  UNDERSTOOD  THE 

NATURE  OF  AN  OATH 448 


WESTWARD    HO! 


!  O  H    a  X  A  W  T  fl  A  W 


WESTWARD  HO! 


CHAPTER  I 

HOW  MR.   OXENHAM   SAW  THE  WHITE  BIRD 

"  The  hollow  oak  our  palace  is, 
Our  heritage  the  sea." 

ALL  who  have  travelled  through  the  delicious 
scenery  of  North  Devon  must  needs  know 
the  little  white  town  of  Bideford,  which  slopes 
upwards  from  its  broad  tide-river  paved  with  yellow 
sands,  and  many-arched  old  bridge  where  salmon 
wait  for  autumn  floods,  toward  the  pleasant  up- 
land on  the  west.  Above  the  town  the  hills  close 
in,  cushioned  with  deep  oak  woods,  through  which 
juts  here  and  there  a  crag  of  fern-fringed  slate ; 
below  they  lower,  and  open  more  and  more  in 
softly  rounded  knolls,  and  fertile  squares  of  red 
and  green,  till  they  sink  into  the  wide  expanse  of 
hazy  flats,  rich  salt-marshes,  and  rolling  sand-hills, 
where  Torridge  joins  her  sister  Taw,  and  both 
together  flow  quietly  toward  the  broad  surges  of 
the  bar,  and  the  everlasting  thunder  of  the  long 
Atlantic  swell.  Pleasantly  the  old  town  stands 
there,  beneath  its  soft  Italian  sky,  fanned  day  and 
night  by  the  fresh  ocean  breeze,  which  forbids 
alike  the  keen  winter  frosts,  and  the  fierce  thunder 


2  Westward  Ho! 

heats  of  the  midland  ;  and  pleasantly  it  has  stood 
there  for  now,  perhaps,  eight  hundred  years  since 
the  first  Grenville,  cousin  of  the  Conqueror,  return- 
ing from  the  conquest  of  South  Wales,  drew  round 
him  trusty  Saxon  serfs,  and  free  Norse  rovers  with 
their  golden  curls,  and  dark  Silurian  Britons  from 
the  Swansea  shore,  and  all  the  mingled  blood 
which  still  gives  to  the  seaward  folk  of  the  next 
county  their  strength  and  intellect,  and,  even  in 
these  levelling  days,  their  peculiar  beauty  of  face 
and  form. 

But  at  the  time  whereof  I  write,  Bideford  was 
not  merely  a  pleasant  country  town,  whose  quay 
was  haunted  by  a  few  coasting  craft.  It  was  one 
of  the  chief  ports  of  England ;  it  furnished  seven 
ships  to  fight  the  Armada:  even  more  than  a 
century  afterwards,  say  the  chroniclers,  "it  sent 
more  vessels  to  the  northern  trade  than  any 
port  in  England,  saving  ("strange  juxtaposition ! ) 
London  and  Topsham,"  and  was  the  centre  of 
a  local  civilization  and  enterprise,  small  perhaps 
compared  with  the  vast  efforts  of  the  present  day: 
but  who  dare  despise  the  day  of  small  things,  if  it 
has  proved  to  be  the  dawn  of  mighty  ones?  And 
it  is  to  the  sea-lhe  and  labor  of  Bideford,  and 
Dartmouth,  and  Topsham,  and  Plymouth  (then  a 
petty  place),  and  many  another  little  western 
town,  that  England  owes  the  foundation  of  her 
naval  and  commercial  glory.  It  was  the  men  of 
Devon,  the  Drakes  and  Hawkins',  Gilberts  and 
Raleighs,  Grenvilles  and  Oxenhams,  and  a  host 
more  of  "  forgotten  worthies,"  whom  we  shall 
learn  one  day  to  honor  as  they  deserve,  to  whom 
she  owes  her  commerce,  her  colonies,  her  very 
existence.  For  had  they  not  first  crippled,  by 


How  Mr.  Oxenham  saw  the  Bird       3 

their  West  Indian  raids,  the  ill-gotten  resources  of 
the  Spaniard,  and  then  crushed  his  last  huge 
effort  in  Britain's  Salamis,  the  glorious  fight  of 
1588,  what  had  we  been  by  now  but  a  popish 
appanage  of  a  world-tyranny  as  cruel  as  heathen 
Rome  itself,  and  far  more  devilish? 

It  is  in  memory  of  these  men,  their  voyages  and 
their  battles,  their  faith  and  their  valor,  their  heroic 
lives  and  no  less  heroic  deaths,  that  I  write  this 
book ;  and  if  now  and  then  I  shall  seem  to  warm 
into  a  style  somewhat  too  stilted  and  pompous,  let 
me  be  excused  for  my  subject's  sake,  fit  rather  to 
have  been  sung  than  said,  and  to  have  proclaimed 
to  all  true  English  hearts,  not  as  a  novel  but  as  an 
epic  (which  some  man  may  yet  gird  himself  to 
write),  the  same  great  message  which  the  songs  of 
Troy,  and  the  Persian  wars,  and  the  trophies  of 
Marathon  and  Salamis,  spoke  to  the  hearts  of  all 
true  Greeks  of  old. 

One  bright  summer's  afternoon,  in  the  year  of 
grace  1575,  a  tall  and  fair  boy  came  lingering 
along  Bideford  quay,  in  his  scholar's  gown,  with 
satchel  and  slate  in  hand,  watching  wistfully  the 
shipping  and  the  sailors,  till,  just  after  he  had 
passed  the  bottom  of  the  High  Street,  he  came 
opposite  to  one  of  the  many  taverns  which  looked 
out  upon  the  river.  In  the  open  bay  window  sat 
merchants  and  gentlemen,  discoursing  over  their 
afternoon's  draught  of  sack ;  and  outside  the  door 
was  gathered  a  group  of  sailors,  listening  earnestly 
to  some  one  who  stood  in  the  midst.  The  boy, 
all  alive  for  any  sea-news,  must  needs  go  up  to 
them,  and  take  his  place  among  the  sailor-lads 
who  were  peeping  and  whispering  under  the  elbows 


4  Westward  Ho  ( 

of  the  men ;  and  so  came  in  for  the  following 
speech,  delivered  in  a  loud  bold  voice,  with  a 
strong  Devonshire  accent,  and  a  fair  sprinkling  of 
oaths. 

"  If  you  don't  believe  me,  go  and  see,  or  stay 
here  and  grow  all  over  blue  mould.  I  tell  you,  as 
I  am  a  gentleman,  I  saw  it  with  these  eyes,  and  so 
did  Salvation  Yeo  there,  through  a  window  in  the 
lower  room ;  and  we  measured  the  heap,  as  I  am 
a  christened  man,  seventy  foot  long,  ten  foot 
broad,  and  twelve  foot  high,  of  silver  bars,  and 
each  bar  between  a  thirty  and  forty  pound  weight. 
And  says  Captain  Drake:  'There,  my  lads  of 
Devon,  I  Ve  brought  you  to  the  mouth  of  the 
world's  treasure-house,  and  it 's  your  own  fault  now 
if  you  don't  sweep  it  out  as  empty  as  a  stock-fish.'  " 

"  Why  did  n't  you  bring  some  of  they  home, 
then,  Mr.  Oxenham?" 

"  Why  were  n't  you  there  to  help  to  carry  them  ? 
We  would  have  brought  'em  away,  safe  enough, 
and  young  Drake  and  I  had  broke  the  door 
abroad  already,  but  Captain  Drake  goes  off  in  a 
dead  faint ;  and  when  we  came  to  look,  he  had  a 
wound  in  his  leg  you  might  have  laid  three  fingers 
in,  and  his  boots  were  full  of  blood,  and  had  been 
for  an  hour  or  more;  but  the  heart  of  him  was 
that,  that  he  never  knew  it  till  he  dropped,  and 
then  his  brother  and  I  got  him  away  to  the  boats, 
he  kicking  and  struggling,  and  bidding  us  let  him 
go  on  with  the  fight,  though  every  step  he  took  in 
the  sand  was  in  a  pool  of  blood ;  and  so  we  got 
off.  And  tell  me,  ye  sons  of  shotten  herrings, 
was  n't  it  worth  more  to  save  him  than  the  dirty 
silver?  for  silver  we  can  get  again,  brave  boys: 
there 's  more  fish  in  the  sea  than  ever  came  out  of 


How  Mr.  Oxenham  saw  the  Bird      5 

it,  and  more  silver  in  Nombre  de  Dios  than  would 
pave  all  the  streets  in  the  west  country:  but  of 
such  captains  as  Franky  Drake,  Heaven  never 
makes  but  one  at  a  time;  and  if  we  lose  him, 
good-bye  to  England's  luck,  say  I,  and  who  don't 
agree,  let  him  choose  his  weapons,  and  I  'm  his  man." 

He  who  delivered  this  harangue  was  a  tall  and 
sturdy  personage,  with  a  florid  black-bearded  face, 
and  bold  restless  dark  eyes,  who  leaned,  with 
crossed  legs  and  arms  akimbo,  against  the  wall  of 
the  house ;  and  seemed  in  the  eyes  of  the  school- 
boy a  very  magnifico,  some  prince  or  duke  at  least. 
He  was  dressed  (contrary  to  all  sumptuary  laws  of 
the  time)  in  a  suit  of  crimson  velvet,  a  little  the 
worse,  perhaps,  for  wear ;  by  his  side  were  a  long 
Spanish  rapier  and  a  brace  of  daggers,  gaudy 
enough  about  the  hilts ;  his  fingers  sparkled  with 
rings ;  he  had  two  or  three  gold  chains  about  his 
neck,  and  large  earrings  in  his  ears,  behind  one  of 
which  a  red  rose  was  stuck  jauntily  enough  among 
the  glossy  black  curls ;  on  his  head  was  a  broad 
velvet  Spanish  hat,  in  which  instead  of  a  feather 
was  fastened  with  a  great  gold  clasp  a  whole 
Quezal  bird,  whose  gorgeous  plumage  of  fretted 
golden  green  shone  like  one  entire  precious  stone. 
As  he  finished  his  speech,  he  took  off  the  said  hat, 
and  looking  at  the  bird  in  it  — 

"  Look  ye,  my  lads,  did  you  ever  see  such  a  fowl 
as  that  before?  That's  the  bird  which  the  old 
Indian  kings  of  Mexico  let  no  one  wear  but  their 
own  selves;  and  therefore  I  wear  it, —  I,  John 
Oxenham  of  South  Tawton,  for  a  sign  to  all  brave 
lads  of  Devon,  that  as  the  Spaniards  are  the 
masters  of  the  Indians,  we  're  the  masters  of  the 
Spaniards :  "  and  he  replaced  his  hat. 


6  Westward  Ho  f 

A  murmur  of  applause  followed  :  but  one  hinted 
that  he  "  doubted  the  Spaniards  were  too  many 
for  them." 

"Too  many?  How  many  men  did  we  take 
Nombre  de  Dios  with?  Seventy-three  were  we, 
and  no  more  when  we  sailed  out  of  Plymouth 
Sound ;  and  before  we  saw  the  Spanish  Main,  half 
were  gastados,  used  up,  as  the  Dons  say,  with 
the  scurvy ;  and  in  Port  Pheasant  Captain  Rawse 
of  Cowes  fell  in  with  us,  and  that  gave  us  some 
thirty  hands  more;  and  with  that  handful,  my 
lads,  only  fifty-three  in  all,  we  picked  the  lock  of 
the  new  world !  And  whom  did  we  lose  but  our 
trumpeter,  who  stood  braying  like  an  ass  in  the 
middle  of  the  square,  instead  of  taking  care  of  his 
neck  like  a  Christian?  I  tell  you,  those  Spaniards 
are  rank  cowards,  as  all  bullies  are.  They  pray  to 
a  woman,  the  idolatrous  rascals !  and  no  wonder 
they  fight  like  women." 

"  You  'm  right,  captain,"  sang  out  a  tall  gaunt 
fellow  who  stood  close  to  him ;  "  one  westcountry- 
man  can  fight  two  easterlings,  and  an  easterling 
can  beat  three  Dons  any  day.  Eh !  my  lads  of 
Devon? 

"  For  O  !  it 's  the  herrings  and  the  good  brown  beef, 

And  the  cider  and  the  cream  so  white ; 
O  !  they  are  the  making  of  the  jolly  Devon  lads, 
For  to  play,  and  eke  to  fight." 

"  Come,"  said  Oxenham,  "  come  along !  Who 
lists?  who  lists?  who'll  make  his  fortune? 

"  Oh,  who  will  join,  jolly  mariners  all  ? 

And  who  will  join,  says  he,  O  ! 
To  fill  his  pockets  with  the  good  red  goold, 
By  sailing  on  the  sea,  O ! " 


How  Mr.  Oxenham  saw  the  Bird      7 

"Who'll  list?"  cried  the  gaunt  man  again; 
"  now 's  your  time !  We  Ve  got  forty  men  to 
Plymouth  now,  ready  to  sail  the  minute  we  get 
back,  and  we  want  a  dozen  out  of  you  Bideford 
men,  and  just  a  boy  or  two,  and  then  we  'm  off  and 
away,  and  make  our  fortunes,  or  go  to  heaven. 

"  Our  bodies  in  the  sea  so  deep, 
Our  souls  in  heaven  to  rest ! 
Where  valiant  seamen,  one  and  all, 
Hereafter  shall  be  blest !  " 

"Now,"  said  Oxenham,  "you  won't  let  the 
Plymouth  men  say  that  the  Bideford  men  dare  n't 
follow  them?  North  Devon  against  South,  it  is. 
Who  '11  join  ?  who  '11  join  ?  It  is  but  a  step  of  a 
way,  after  all,  and  sailing  as  smooth  as  a  duck- 
pond  as  soon  as  you  're  past  Cape  Finisterre.  I  '11 
run  a  Clovelly  herring-boat  there  and  back  for  a 
wager  of  twenty  pound,  and  never  ship  a  bucket- 
ful all  the  way.  Who  '11  join  ?  Don't  think  you  're 
buying  a  pig  in  a  poke.  I  know  the  road,  and 
Salvation  Yeo,  here,  too,  who  was  the  gunner's 
mate,  as  well  as  I  do  the  narrow  seas,  and  better. 
You  ask  him  to  show  you  the  chart  of  it,  now,  and 
see  if  he  don't  tell  you  over  the  ruttier  as  well  as 
Drake  himself." 

On  which  the  gaunt  man  pulled  from  under  his 
arm  a  great  white  buffalo  horn  covered  with  rough 
etchings  of  land  and  sea,  and  held  it  up  to  the 
admiring  ring. 

"  See  here,  boys  all,  and  behold  the  pictur  of 
the  place,  dra'ed  out  so  natural  as  ever  was  life. 
I  got  mun  from  a  Portingal,  down  to  the  Azores ; 
and  he  'd  pricked  mun  out,  and  pricked  mun  out, 
wheresoever  he  'd  sailed,  and  whatsoever  he  'd 


8  Westward  Ho ! 

seen.  Take  mun  in  your  hands  now,  Simon 
Evans,  take  mun  in  your  hands;  look  mun  over, 
and  I  '11  warrant  you  '11  know  the  way  in  five 
minutes  so  well  as  ever  a  shark  in  the  seas." 

And  the  horn  was  passed  from  hand  to  hand ; 
while  Oxenham,  who  saw  that  his  hearers  were 
becoming  moved,  called  through  the  open  window 
for  a  great  tankard  of  sack,  and  passed  that  from 
hand  to  hand,  after  the  horn. 

The  school-boy,  who  had  been  devouring  with 
eyes  and  ears  all  which  passed,  and  had  contrived 
by  this  time  to  edge  himself  into  the  inner  ring, 
now  stood  face  to  face  with  the  hero  of  the  emerald 
crest,  and  got  as  many  peeps  as  he  could  at  the 
wonder.  But  when  he  saw  the  sailors,  one  after 
another,  having  turned  it  over  a  while,  come  for- 
ward and  offer  to  join  Mr.  Oxenham,  his  soul 
burned  within  him  for  a  nearer  view  of  that 
wondrous  horn,  as  magical  in  its  effects  as  that 
of  Tristrem,  or  the  enchanter's  in  Ariosto;  and 
when  the  group  had  somewhat  broken  up,  and 
Oxenham  was  going  into  the  tavern  with  his  re- 
cruits, he  asked  boldly  for  a  nearer  sight  of  the 
marvel,  which  was  granted  at  once. 

And  now  to  his  astonished  gaze  displayed  them- 
selves cities  and  harbors,  dragons  and  elephants, 
whales  which  fought  with  sharks,  plate  ships  of 
Spain,  islands  with  apes  and  palm-trees,  each  with 
its  name  over-written,  and  here  and  there,  "  Here 
is  gold;"  and  again,  "Much  gold  and  silver;" 
inserted  most  probably,  as  the  words  were  in 
English,  by  the  hands  of  Mr.  Oxenham  himself. 
Lingeringly  and  longingly  the  boy  turned  it  round 
and  round,  and  thought  the  owner  of  it  more 
fortunate  than  Khan  or  Kaiser.  Oh,  if  he  could 


How  Mr.  Oxenham  saw  the  Bird      9 

but  possess  that  horn,  what  needed  he  on  earth 
beside  to  make  him  blest ! 

"  I  say,  will  you  sell  this  ?  '* 

"  Yea,  marry,  or  my  own  soul,  if  I  can  get  the 
worth  of  it." 

"  I  want  the  horn,  —  I  don't  want  your  soul ; 
it's  somewhat  of  a  stale  sole,  for  aught  I. know; 
and  there  are  plenty  of  fresh  ones  in  the  bay." 

And  therewith,  after  much  fumbling,  he  pulled 
out  a  tester  (the  only  one  he  had),  and  asked  if 
that  would  buy  it? 

"  That !  no,  nor  twenty  of  them." 

The  boy  thought  over  what  a  good  knight-errant 
would  do  in  such  case,  and  then  answered,  "Tell 
you  what :  I  '11  fight  you  for  it." 

"  Thank  'ee,  sir  1  " 

"  Break  the  jackanapes's  head  for  him,  Yeo," 
said  Oxenham. 

"  Call  me  jackanapes  again,  and  I  break  yours, 
sir."  And  the  boy  lifted  his  fist  fiercely. 

Oxenham  looked  at  him  a  minute  smilingly. 
"  Tut !  tut  I  my  man,  hit  one  of  your  own  size,  if 
you  will,  and  spare  Kttle  folk  like  me  !  " 

"  If  I  have  a  boy's  age,  sir,  I  have  a  man's  fist. 
I  shall  be  fifteen  years  old  this  month,  and  know 
how  to  answer  any  one  who  insults  me." 

"Fifteen,  my  young  cockerel?  you  look  liker 
twenty,"  said  Oxenham,  with  an  admiring  glance 
at  the  lad's  broad  limbs,  keen  blue  eyes,  curling 
golden  locks,  and  round  honest  face.  "Fifteen? 
If  I  had  half-a-dozen  such  lads  as  you,  I  would 
make  knights  of  them  before  I  died.  Eh,  Yeo?" 

"He'll  do/*  said  Yeo;  "he  will  make  a  brave 
gamecock  in  a  year  or  two,  if  he  dares  ruffle  up  so 
early  at  a  tough  old  hen-master  like  the  captain." 


io  Westward  Ho! 

At  which  there  was  a  general  laugh,  in  which 
Oxenham  joined  as  loudly  as  any,  and  then  bade 
the  lad  tell  him  why  he  was  so  keen  after  the  horn. 

"  Because,"  said  he,  looking  up  boldly,  "  I  want 
to  go  to  sea.  I  want  to  see  the  Indies.  I  want  to 
fight  the  Spaniards.  Though  I  am  a  gentleman's 
son,  I  'd  a  deal  liever  be  a  cabin-boy  on  board 
your  ship."  And  the  lad,  having  hurried  out  his 
say  fiercely  enough,  dropped  his  head  again. 

"  And  you  shall,"  cried  Oxenham,  with  a  great 
oath ;  "  and  take  a  galloon,  and  dine  off  carbon- 
adoed Dons.  Whose  son  are  you,  my  gallant 
fellow?" 

"  Mr.  Leigh's,  of  Burrough  Court." 

"  Bless  his  soul !  I  know  him  as  well  as  I  do  the 
Eddystone,  and  his  kitchen  too.  Who  sups  with 
him  to-night?"  . 

"  Sir  Richard  Grenville." 

"  Dick  Grenville  ?  I  did  not  know  he  was  in  town. 
Go  home  and  tell  your  father  John  Oxenham  will 
come  and  keep  him  company.  There,  off  with 
you  !  I  '11  make  all  straight  with  the  good  gentle- 
man, and  you  shall  have  your  venture  with  me ; 
and  as  for  the  horn,  let  him  have  the  horn,  Yeo, 
and  I  '11  give  you  a  noble  for  it." 

"  Not  a  penny,  noble  captain.  If  young  master 
will  take  a  poor  mariner's  gift,  there  it  is,  for  the 
sake  of  his  love  to  the  calling,  and  Heaven  send 
him  luck  therein."  And  the  good  fellow,  with  the 
impulsive  generosity  of  a  true  sailor,  thrust  the 
horn  into  the  boy's  hands,  and  walked  away  to 
escape  thanks. 

"  And  now,"  quoth  Oxenham,  "  my  merry  men 
all,  make  up  your  minds  what  mannered  men  you 
be  minded  to  be  before  you  take  your  bounties. 


How  Mr.  Oxenham  saw  the  Bird     1 1 

I  want  none  of  your  rascally  lurching  longshore 
vermin,  who  get  five  pounds  out  of  this  captain, 
and  ten  out  of  that,  and  let  him  sail  without  them 
after  all,  while  they  are  stowed  away  under  women's 
mufflers,  and  in  tavern  cellars.  If  any  man  is  of 
that  humor,  he  had  better  to  cut  himself  up,  and 
salt  himself  down  in  a  barrel  for  pork,  before  he 
meets  me  again ;  for  by  this  light,  let  me  catch 
him,  be  it  seven  years  hence,  and  if  I  do  not  cut 
his  throat  upon  the  streets,  it 's  a  pity !  But  if  any 
man  will  be  true  brother  to  me,  true  brother  to 
him  I  '11  be,  come  wreck  or  prize,  storm  or  calm, 
salt  water  or  fresh,  victuals  or  none,  share  and  fare 
alike ;  and  here  's  my  hand  upon  it,  for  every  man 
and  all !  and  so  — 

"  Westward  ho  !  with  a  rumbelow, 

And  hurra  for  the  Spanish  Main,  O  !  " 

After  which  oration  Mr.  Oxenham  swaggered 
into  the  tavern,  followed  by  his  new  men ;  and  the 
boy  took  his  way  homewards,  nursing  his  precious 
horn,  trembling  between  hope  and  fear,  and  blush- 
ing with  maidenly  shame,  and  a  half-sense  of 
wrong-doing  at  having  revealed  suddenly  to  a 
stranger  the  darling  wish  which  he  had  hidden 
from  his  father  and  mother  ever  since  he  was  ten 
years  old. 

Now  this  young  gentleman,  Amyas  Leigh, 
though  come  of  as  good  blood  as  any  in  Devon, 
and  having  lived  all  his  life  in  what  we  should  even 
now  call  the  very  best  society,  and  being  (on  ac- 
count of  the  valor,  courtesy,  and  truly  noble  qual- 
ities which  he  showed  forth  in  his  most  eventful 
life)  chosen  by  me  as  the  hero  and  centre  of  this 
story,  was  not,  saving  for  his  good  looks,  by  any 


1 2  Westward  Ho  ! 

means  what  would  be  called  now-a-days  an  "  inter- 
esting" youth,  still  less  a  "  highly  educated  "  one; 
for,  with  the  exception  of  a  little  Latin,  which  had 
been  driven  into  him  by  repeated  blows,  as  if  it  had 
been  a  nail,  he  knew  no  books  whatsoever,  save  his 
Bible,  his  Prayer-book,  the  old  "  Mort  d' Arthur" 
of  Caxton's  edition,  which  lay  in  the  gr  at  bay 
window  in  the  hall,  and  the  translation  of  "  Las 
Casas*  History  of  the  West  Indies,"  which  lay  be- 
side it,  lately  done  into  English  under  iL*  title  of 
"The  Cruelties  of  the  Spaniards."  He  devoutly 
believed  in  fairies,  whom  he  called  pixies;  and 
held  that  they  changed  babies,  and  made  the 
mushroom  rings  on  the  downs  to  dance  in.  When 
he  had  warts  or  burns,  he  went  to  the  white  witch 
at  Northam  to  charm  them  away ;  he  thought  that 
the  sun  moved  round  the  earth,  and  that  the  moon 
had  some  kindred  with  a  Cheshire  cheese.  He 
held  that  the  swallows  slept  all  the  winter  at  the 
bottom  of  the  horse-pond;,  talked,  like  Raleigh, 
Grenville,  and  other  low  persons,  with  a  broad  Dev- 
onshire accent ;  and  was  in  many  other  respects  so 
very  ignorant  a  youth,  that  any  pert  monitor  in  a 
national  school  might  have  had  a  hearty  laugh  at 
him.  Nevertheless,  this  ignorant  young  savage, 
"  vacant  of  the  glorious  gains  "  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  children's  literature  and  science  made  easy, 
and,  worst  of  all,  of  those  improved  views  of  Eng- 
lish history  now  current  among  our  railway  essay- 
ists, which  consist  in  believing  all  persons,  male 
and  female,  before  the  year  1688,  and  nearly  all 
after  it,  to  have  been  either  hypocrites  or  fools,  had 
learnt  certain  things  which  he  would  hardly  have 
been  taught  just  now  in  any  school  in  England ; 
for  his  training  had  been  that  of  the  old  Persians, 


How  Mr.  Oxenham  saw  the  Bird     1 3 

"  to  speak  the  truth  and  to  draw  the  bow,"  both  of 
which  savage  virtues  he  had  acquired  to  perfection, 
as  well  as  the  equally  savage  ones  of  enduring  pain 
cheerfully,  and  of  believing  it  to  be  the  finest  thing 
in  the  world  to  be  a  gentleman ;  by  which  word  he 
had  been  taught  to  understand  the  careful  habit 
of  causing  needless  pain  to  no  human  being,  poor 
or  rich,  and  of  taking  pride  in  giving  up  his  own 
pleasure  for  the  sake  of  those  who  were  weaker 
than  himself.  Moreover,  having  been  entrusted 
for  the  last  year  with  the  breaking  of  a  colt,  and  the 
care  of  a  cast  of  young  hawks  which  his  father  had 
received  from  Lundy  Isle,  he  had  been  profiting 
much,  by  the  means  of  those  coarse  and  frivolous 
amusements,  in  perseverance,  thoughtfulness,  and 
the  habit  of  keeping  his  temper;  and  though  he 
had  never  had  a  single  "object  lesson,"  or  been 
taught  to  "  use  his  intellectual  powers,"  he  knew 
the  names  and  ways  of  every  bird,  and  fish,  and 
fly,  and  could  read,  as  cunningly  as  the  oldest 
sailor,  the  meaning  of  every  drift  of  cloud  which 
crossed  the  heavens.  Lastly,  he  had  been  for  some 
time  past,  on  account  of  his  extraordinary  size  and 
strength,  undisputed  cock  of  the  school,  and  the 
most  terrible  fighter  among  all  Bideford  boys ;  in 
which  brutal  habit  he  took  much  delight,  and  con- 
trived, strange  as  it  may  seem,  to  extract  from  it 
good,  not  only  for  himself  but  for  others,  doing 
justice  among  his  school-fellows  with  a  heavy  hand, 
and  succoring  the  oppressed  and  afflicted ;  so  that 
he  was  the  terror  of  all  the  sailor-lads,  and  the 
pride  and  stay  of  all  the  town's  boys  and  girls,  and 
hardly  considered  that  he  had  done  his  duty  in  his 
calling  if  he  went  home  without  beating  a  big  lad 
for  bullying  a  little  one.  For  the  rest,  he  never 


14  Westward  Ho! 

thought  about  thinking,  or  felt  about  feeling ;  and 
had  no  ambition  whatsoever  beyond  pleasing  his 
father  and  mother,  getting  by  honest  means  the 
maximum  of  "  red  quarrenders  "  and  mazard  cher- 
ries, and  going  to  sea  when  he  was  big  enough. 
Neither  was  he  what  would  be  now-a-days  called 
by  many  a  pious  child ;  for  though  he  said  his 
Creed  and  Lord's  Prayer  night  and  morning,  and 
went  to  the  service  at  the  church  every  forenoon, 
and  read  the  day's  Psalms  with  his  mother  every 
evening,  and  had  learnt  from  her  and  from  his 
father  (as  he  proved  well  in  after  life)  that  it  was 
infinitely  noble  to  do  right  and  infinitely  base  to  do 
wrong,  yet  (the  age  of  children's  religious  books 
not  having  yet  dawned  on  the  world)  he  knew 
nothing  more  of  theology,  or  of  his  own  soul,  than 
is  contained  in  the  Church  Catechism.  It  is  a 
question,  however,  on  the  whole,  whether,  though 
grossly  ignorant  (according  to  our  modern  notions) 
in  science  and  religion,  he  was  altogether  untrained 
in  manhood,  virtue,  and  godliness;  and  whether 
the  barbaric  narrowness  of  his  information  was  not 
somewhat  counterbalanced  both  in  him  and  in  the 
rest  of  his  generation  by  the  depth,  and  breadth, 
and  healthiness  of  his  education. 

So  let  us  watch  him  up  the  hill  as  he  goes  hug- 
ging his  horn,  to  tell  all  that  has  passed  to  his 
mother,  from  whom  he  had  never  hidden  anything 
in  his  life,  save  only  that  sea-fever ;  and  that  only 
because  he  foreknew  that  it  would  give  her  pain ; 
and  because,  moreover,  being  a  prudent  and  sen- 
sible tad,  he  knew  that  he  was  not  yet  old  enough 
to  go,  and  that,  as  he  expressed  it  to  her  that 
afternoon,  "  there  was  no  use  hollamg  till  he  was 
out  of  the  wood." 


How  Mr.  Oxenham  saw  the  Bird     1 5 

So  he  goes  up  between  the  rich  lane-banks, 
heavy  with  drooping  ferns  and  honeysuckle ;  out 
upon  the  windy  down  toward  the  old  Court,  nestled 
amid  its  ring  of  wind-clipt  oaks ;  through  the  gray 
gateway  into  the  homeclose ;  and  then  he  pauses 
a  moment  to  look  around ;  first  at  the  wide  bay 
to  the  westward,  with  its  southern  wall  of  purple 
cliffs ;  then  at  the  dim  Isle  of  Lundy  far  away  at 
sea;  then  at  the  cliffs  and  downs  of  Morte  and 
Braunton,  right  in  front  -of  him ;  then  at  the  vast 
yellow  sheet  of  rolling  sand-hill,  and  green  alluvial 
plain  dotted  with  red  cattle,  at  his  feet,  through 
which  the  silver  estuary  winds  onward  toward  the 
sea.  Beneath  him,  on  his  right,  the  Torridge,  like 
a  land-locked  lake,  sleeps  broad  and  bright  be- 
tween the  old  park  of  Tapeley  and  the  charmed 
rock  of  the  Hubbastone,  where,  seven  hundred 
years  ago,  the  Norse  rovers  landed  to  lay  siege  to 
Kenwith  Castle,  a  mile  away  on  his  left  hand ;  and 
not  three  fields  away,  are  the  old  stones  of  "  The 
Bloody  Corner,"  where  the  retreating  Danes,  cut 
off  from  their  ships,  made  their  last  fruitless  stand 
against  the  Saxon  sheriff  and  the  valiant  men  of 
Devon.  Within  that  charmed  rock,  so  Torridge 
boatmen  tell,  sleeps  now  the  old  Norse  Viking  in 
his  leaden  coffin,  with  all  his  fairy  treasure  and  his 
crown  of  gold ;  and  as  the  boy  looks  at  the  spot, 
he  fancies,  and  almost  hopes,  that  the  day  may 
come  when  he  shall  have  to  do  his  duty  against 
the  invader  as  boldly  as  the  men  of  Devon  did 
then.  And  past  him,  far  below,  upon  the  soft 
southeastern  breeze,  the  stately  ships  go  sliding 
out  to  sea.  When  shall  he  sail  in  them,  and  sec 
the  wonders  of  the  deep  ?  And  as  he  stands  there 
with  beating  heart  and  kindling  eye,  the  cool 


1 6  Westward  Ho  ! 

breeze  whistling  through  his  long  fair  curls,  he  is 
a  symbol,  though  he  knows  it  not,  of  brave  young 
England  longing  to  wing  its  way  out  of  its  island 
prison,  to  discover  and  to  traffic,  to  colonize  and 
to  civilize,  until  no  wind  can  sweep  the  earth  which 
does  not  bear  the  echoes  of  an  English  voice. 
Patience,  young  Amyas!  Thou  too  shalt  forth, 
and  westward  ho,  beyond  thy  wildest  dreams; 
and  see  brave  sights,  and  do  brave  deeds,  which 
no  man  has  since  the  foundation  of  the  world. 
Thou  too  shalt  face  invaders  stronger  and  more 
cruel  far  than  Dane  or  Norman,  and  bear  thy  part 
in  that  great  Titan  strife  before  the  renown  of 
which  the  name  of  Salamis  shall  fade  away ! 

Mr.  Oxenham  came  that  evening  to  supper  as 
he  had  promised :  but  as  people  supped  in  those 
days  in  much  the  same  manner  as  they  do  now, 
we  may  drop  the  thread  of  the  story  for  a  few 
hours,  and  take  it  up  again  after  supper  is  over. 

"  Come  now,  Dick  Grenville,  do  thou  talk  the 
good  man  round,  and  I  '11  warrant  myself  to  talk 
round  the  good  wife." 

The  personage  whom  Oxenham  addressed  thus 
familiarly  answered  by  a  somewhat  sarcastic  smile, 
and,  "  Mr.  Oxenham  gives  Dick  Grenville  "  (with 
just  enough  emphasis  on  the  "  Mr."  and  the 
"Dick,"  to  hint  that  a  liberty  had  been  taken 
with  him)  "  overmuch  credit  with  the  men.  Mr. 
Oxenham's  credit  with  fair  ladies,  none  can  doubt. 
Friend  Leigh,  is  Heard's  great  ship  home  yet  from 
the  Straits?" 

The  speaker,  known  well  in  those  days  as  Sir 
Richard  Grenville,  Granville,  Greenvil,  Greenfield, 
with  two  or  three  other  variations,  was  one  of  those 
truly  heroical  personages  whom  Providence,  fitting 


How  Mr.  Oxenham  saw  the  Bird     17 

always  the  men  to  their  age  and  their  work,  had 
sent  upon  the  earth  whereof  it  takes  right  good 
care,  not  in  England  only,  but  in  Spain  and  Italy, 
in  Germany  and  the  Netherlands,  and  wherever,  in 
short,  great  men  and  great  deeds  were  needed  to 
lift  the  mediaeval  world  into  the  modern. 

And,  among  all  the  heroic  faces  which  the 
painters  of  that  age  have  preserved,  none,  perhaps, 
hardly  excepting  Shakespeare's  or  Spenser's,  Alva's 
or  Parma's,  is  more  heroic  than  that  of  Richard 
Grenville,  as  it  stands  in  Prince's  "Worthies  of 
Devon ;  "  of  a  Spanish  type,  perhaps  (or  more 
truly  speaking,  a  Cornish),  rather  than  an  English, 
with  just  enough  of  the  British  element  in  it  to 
give  delicacy  to  its  massiveness.  The  forehead 
and  whole  brain  are  of  extraordinary  loftiness,  and 
perfectly  upright;  the  nose  long,  aquiline,  and 
delicately  pointed ;  the  mouth  fringed  with  a  short 
silky  beard,  small  and  ripe,  yet  firm  as  granite, 
with  just  pout  enough  of  the  lower  lip  to  give  hint 
of  that  capacity  of  noble  indignation  which  lay 
hid  under  its  usual  courtly  calm  and  sweetness;  if 
there  be  a  defect  in  the  face,  it  is  that  the  eyes  are 
somewhat  small,  and  close  together,  and  the  eye- 
brows, though  delicately  arched,  and,  without  a 
trace  of  peevishness,  too  closely  pressed  down  upon 
them,  the  complexion  is  dark,  the  figure  tall  and 
graceful ;  altogether  the  likeness  of  a  wise  and 
gallant  gentleman,  lovely  to  all  good  men,  awful 
to  all  bad  men ;  in  whose  presence  none  dare  say 
or  do  a  mean  or  a  ribald  thing ;  whom  brave  men 
left,  feeling  themselves  nerved  to  do  their  duty 
better,  while  cowards  slipped  away,  as  bats  and 
owls  before  the  sun.  So  he  lived  and  moved, 
whether  in  the  Court  of  Elizabeth,  giving  his 

Vol.  &-3 


1 8  Westward  Ho  ! 

counsel  among  the  wisest;  or  in  the  streets  of 
Bideford,  capped  alike  by  squire  and  merchant, 
shopkeeper  and  sailor ;  or  riding  along  the  moor- 
land roads  between  his  houses  of  Stow  and  Bide- 
ford,  while  every  woman  ran  out  to  her  door  to 
look  at  the  great  Sir  Richard,  the  pride  of  North 
Devon;  or,  sitting  there  in  the  low  mullioned 
window  at  Burrough,  with  his  cup  of  malmsey 
before  him,  and  the  lute  to  which  he  had  just 
been  singing  laid  across  his  knees,  while  the  red 
western  sun  streamed  in  upon  his  high,  bland 
forehead,  and  soft  curling  locks;  ever  the  same 
steadfast,  God-fearing,  chivalrous  man,  conscious 
(as  far  as  a  soul  so  healthy  could  be  conscious)  of 
the  pride  of  beauty,  and  strength,  and  valor,  and 
wisdom,  and  a  race  and  name  which  claimed  direct 
descent  from  the  grandfather  of  the  Conqueror,  and 
was  tracked  down  the  centuries  by  valiant  deeds 
and  noble  benefits  to  his  native  shire,  himself  the 
noblest  of  his  race.  Men  said  that  he  was  proud ; 
but  he  could  not  look  round  him  without  having 
something  to  be  proud  of;  that  he  was  stern  and 
harsh  to  his  sailors :  but  it  was  only  when  he  saw 
in  them  any  taint  of  cowardice  or  falsehood ;  that 
he  was  subject,  at  moments,  to  such  fearful  fits  of 
rage,  that  he  had  been  seen  to  snatch  the  glasses 
from  the  table,  grind  them  to  pieces  in  his  teeth, 
and  swallow  them:  but  that  was  only  when  his 
indignation  had  been  aroused  by  some  tale  of 
cruelty  or  oppression,  and,  above  all,  by  those 
West  Indian  devilries  of  the  Spaniards,  whom  he 
regarded  (and  in  those  days  rightly  enough)  as 
the  enemies  of  God  and  man.  Of  this  last  fact 
Oxenham  was  well  aware,  and  therefore  felt  some- 
what puzzled  and  nettled,  when,  after  having  asked 


How  Mr.  Oxenham  saw  the  Bird     1 9 

Mr.  Leigh's  leave  to  take  young  Amyas  with  him, 
and  set  forth  in  glowing  colors  the  purpose  of 
his  voyage,  he  found  Sir  Richard  utterly  unwilling 
to  help  him  with  his  suit. 

"  Heyday,  Sir  Richard  !  You  are  not  surely 
gone  over  to  the  side  of  those  canting  fellows 
(Spanish  Jesuits  in  disguise,  every  one  of  them, 
they  are),  who  pretended  to  turn  up  their  noses 
at  Franky  Drake,  as  a  pirate,  and  be  hanged  to 
them?" 

"  My  friend  Oxenham,"  answered  he,  in  the 
sententious  and  measured  style  of  the  day,  "  I 
have  always  held,  as  you  should  know  by  this, 
that  Mr.  Drake's  booty,  as  well  as  my  good  friend 
Captain  Hawkins's,  is  lawful  prize,  as  being  taken 
from  the  Spaniard,  who  is  not  only  kostis  humani 
generis,  but  has  no  right  to  the  same,  having 
robbed  it  violently,  by  torture  and  extreme  in- 
iquity, from  the  poor  Indian,  whom  God  avenge, 
as  He  surely  will." 

"  Amen,"  said  Mrs.  Leigh. 

"  I  say  Amen,  too,"  quoth  Oxenham,  "  espe- 
cially if  it  please  Him  to  avenge  them  by  English 
hands." 

"  And  I  also,"  went  on  Sir  Richard ;  "  for  the 
rightful  owners  of  the  said  goods  being  either  mis- 
erably dead,  or  incapable,  by  reason  of  their  servi- 
tude, of  ever  recovering  any  share  thereof,  the 
treasure,  falsely  called  Spanish,  cannot  be  better 
bestowed  than  in  building  up  the  state  of  England 
against  them,  our  natural  enemies;  and  thereby, 
in  building  up  the  weal  of  the  Reformed  Churches 
throughout  the  world,  and  the  liberties  of  all 
nations,  against  a  tyranny  more  foul  and  rapacious 
than  that  of  Nero  or  Caligula;  which,  if  it  be  not 


2O  Westward  Ho ! 

the  cause  of  God,  I,  for  one,  know  not  what  God's 
cause  is  !  "  And,  as  he  warmed  in  his  speech,  his 
eyes  flashed  very  fire. 

"  Hark  now !  "  said  Oxenham,  "  who  can  speak 
more  boldly  than  he?  and  yet  he  will  not  help  this 
lad  to  so  noble  an  adventure." 

"You  have  asked  his  father  and  mother;  what 
is  their  answer?" 

"  Mine  is  this,"  said  Mr.  Leigh ;  "  if  it  be  God's 
will  that  my  boy  should  become,  hereafter,  such  a 
mariner  as  Sir  Richard  Grenville,  let  him  go,  and 
God  be  with  him;  but  let  him  first  bide  here  at 
home  and  be  trained,  if  God  give  me  grace,  to  be- 
come such  a  gentleman  as  Sir  Richard  Grenville." 

Sir  Richard  bowed  low,  and  Mrs.  Leigh  catch- 
ing up  the  last  word  — 

"There,  Mr.  Oxenham,  you  cannot  gainsay  that, 
unless  you  will  be  discourteous  to  his  worship. 
And  for  me  —  though  it  be  a  weak  woman's 
reason,  yet  it  is  a  mother's :  he  is  my  only  child. 
His  elder  brother  is  far  away.  God  only  knows 
whether  I  shall  see  him  again;  and  what  are  all 
reports  of  his  virtues  and  his  learning  to  me,  com- 
pared to  that  sweet  presence  which  I  daily  miss? 
Ah !  Mr.  Oxenham,  my  beautiful  Joseph  is  gone ; 
and  though  he  be  lord  of  Pharaoh's  household,  yet 
he  is  far  away  in  Egypt ;  and  you  will  take  Benja- 
min also  !  Ah  !  Mr.  Oxenham,  you  have  no  child, 
or  you  would  not  ask  for  mine  !  " 

"And  how  do  you  know  that,  my  sweet 
madam !  "  said  the  adventurer,  turning  first  deadly 
pale,  and  then  glowing  red.  Her  last  words  had 
touched  him  to  the  quick  in  some  unexpected 
place ;  and  rising,  he  courteously  laid  her  hand  to 
his  lips,  and  said  —  "I  say  no  more.  Farewell, 


How  Mr.  Oxenham  saw  the  Bird     21 

sweet  madam,  and  God  send  all  men  such  wives 
as  you." 

"  And  all  wives,"  said  she,  smiling,  "  such  hus- 
bands as  mine." 

"  Nay,  I  will  not  say  that,"  answered  he,  with  a 
half  sneer  —  and  then,  "  Farewell,  friend  Leigh  — 
farewell,  gallant  Dick  Grenville.  God  send  I  see 
thee  Lord  High  Admiral  when  I  come  home. 
And  yet,  why  should  I  come  home?  Will  you 
pray  for  poor  Jack,  gentles?  " 

"  Tut,  tut,  man  !  good  words,"  said  Leigh ;  "  let 
us  drink  to  our  merry  meeting  before  you  go." 
And  rising,  and  putting  the  tankard  of  malmsey  to 
his  lips,  he  passed  it  to  Sir  Richard,  who  rose,  and 
saying,  "  To  the  fortune  of  a  bold  mariner  and  a 
gallant  gentleman,"  drank,  and  put  the  cup  into 
Oxenham's  hand. 

The  adventurer's  face  was  flushed,  and  his  eye 
wild.  Whether  from  the  liquor  he  had  drunk 
during  the  day,  or  whether  from  Mrs.  Leigh's  last 
speech,  he  had  not  been  himself  for  a  few  min- 
utes. He  lifted  the  cup,  and  was  in  act  to  pledge 
them,  when  he  suddenly  dropped  it  on  the  table, 
and  pointed,  staring  and  trembling,  up  and  down, 
and  round  the  room,  as  if  following  some  fluttering 
object. 

"There!  Do  you  see  it?  The  bird!  —  the 
bird  with  the  white  breast !  " 

Each  looked  at  the  other ;  but  Leigh,  who  was 
a  quick-witted  man  and  an  old  courtier,  forced  a 
laugh  instantly,  and  cried  — 

"  Nonsense,  brave  Jack  Oxenham  !  Leave  white 
birds  for  men  who  will  show  the  white  feather. 
Mrs.  Leigh  waits  to  pledge  you." 

Oxenham    recovered    himself   in    a    moment, 


22  Westward  Ho ! 

pledged  them  all  round,  drinking  deep  and 
fiercely;  and  after  hearty  farewells,  departed, 
never  hinting  again  at  his  strange  exclamation. 

After  he  was  gone,  and  while  Leigh  was  attend- 
ing him  to  the  door,  Mrs.  Leigh  and  Grenville  kept 
a  few  minutes'  dead  silence.  At  last  — 

"  God  help  him !  "  said  she. 

"  Amen  !  "  said  Grenville,  "  for  he  never  needed 
it  more.  But,  indeed,  madam,  I  put  no  faith  in 
such  omens." 

"  But,  Sir  Richard,  that  bird  has  been  seen  for 
generations  before  the  death  of  any  of  his  family. 
I  know  those  who  were  at  South  Tawton  when  his 
mother  died,  and  his  brother  also ;  and  they  both 
saw  it.  God  help  him !  for,  after  all,  he  is  a 
proper  man." 

"  So  many  a  lady  has  thought  before  now,  Mrs. 
Leigh,  and  well  for  him  if  they  had  not.  But, 
indeed,  I  make  no  account  of  omens.  When  God 
is  ready  for  each  man,  then  he  must  go ;  and  when 
can  he  go  better?  " 

"  But,"  said  Mr.  Leigh,  who  entered,  "  I  have 
seen,  and  especially  when  I  was  in  Italy,  omens 
and  prophecies  before  now  beget  their  own  fulfil- 
ment, by  driving  men  into  recklessness,  and  mak- 
ing them  run  headlong  upon  that  very  ruin  which, 
as  they  fancied,  was  running  upon  them." 

"And  which,"  said  Sir  Richard,  "they  might 
have  avoided,  if,  instead  of  trusting  in  I  know  not 
what  dumb  and  dark  destiny,  they  had  trusted  in 
the  living  God,  by  faith  in  whom  men  may  remove 
mountains,  and  quench  the  fire,  and  put  to  flight 
the  armies  of  the  alien.  I  too  know,  and  know 
not  how  I  know,  that  I  shall  never  die  in  my 
bed." 


How  Mr.  Oxenham  saw  the  Bird     23 

"  God  forfend  !  "  cried  Mrs.  Leigh. 

"And  why,  fair  madam,  if  I  die  doing  my  duty 
to  my  God  and  my  queen?  The  thought  never 
moves  me :  nay,  to  tell  the  truth,  I  pray  often 
enough  that  I  may  be  spared  the  miseries  of  im- 
becile old  age,  and  that  end  which  the  old  North- 
men rightly  called  '  a  cow's  death '  rather  than  a 
man's.  But  enough  of  this.  Mr.  Leigh,  you  have 
done  wisely  to-night.  Poor  Oxenham  does  not  go 
on  his  voyage  with  a  single  eye.  I  have  talked 
about  him  with  Drake  and  Hawkins ;  and  I  guess 
why  Mrs.  Leigh  touched  him  so  home  when  she 
told  him  that  he  had  no  child." 

14  Has  he  one,  then,  in  the  West  Indies?"  cried 
the  good  lady. 

"  God  knows ;  and  God  grant  we  may  not  hear 
of  shame  and  sorrow  fallen  upon  an  ancient  and 
honorable  house  of  Devon.  My  brother  Stukely  is 
woe  enough  to  North  Devon  for  this  generation." 

"  Poor  braggadocio  !  "  said  Mr.  Leigh ;  "  and 
yet  not  altogether  that  too,  for  he  can  fight  at 
least." 

"  So  can  every  mastiff  and  boar,  much  more  an 
Englishman.  And  now  come  hither  to  me,  my 
adventurous  godson,  and  don't  look  in  such  dole- 
ful dumps.  I  hear  you  have  broken  all  the  sailor- 
boys'  heads  already." 

"Nearly  all,"  said  young  Amyas,  with  due 
modesty.  "But  am  I  not  to  go  to  sea?" 

"  All  things  in  their  time,  my  boy,  and  God 
forbid  that  either  I  or  your  worthy  parents  should 
keep  you  from  that  noble  calling  which  is  the 
safeguard  of  this  England  and  her  queen.  But 
you  do  not  wish  to  live  and  die  the  master  of  a 
trawler?" 


24  Westward  Ho ! 

"  I  should  like  to  be  a  brave  adventurer,  like 
Mr.  Oxenham." 

"  God  grant  you  become  a  braver  man  than  he  ! 
for,  as  I  think,  to  be  bold  against  the  enemy  is 
common  to  the  brutes;  but  the  prerogative  of  a 
man  is  to  be  bold  against  himself." 

"How,  sir?" 

"  To  conquer  our  own  fancies,  Amyas,  and  our 
own  lusts,  and  our  ambition,  in  the  sacred  name 
of  duty;  this  it  is  to  be  truly  brave,  and  truly 
strong ;  for  he  who  cannot  rule  himself,  how  can 
he  rule  his  crew  or  his  fortunes?  Come,  now,  I 
will  make  you  a  promise.  If  you  will  bide  quietly 
at  home,  and  learn  from  your  father  and  mother 
all  which  befits  a  gentleman  and  a  Christian,  as 
well  as  a  seaman,  the  day  shall  come  when  you 
shall  sail  with  Richard  Grenville  himself,  or  with 
better  men  than  he,  on  a  nobler  errand  than  gold- 
hunting  on  the  Spanish  Main." 

"  O  my  boy,  my  boy !  "  said  Mrs.  Leigh,  "  hear 
what  the  good  Sir  Richard  promises  you.  Many 
an  earl's  son  would  be  glad  to  be  in  your  place." 

"  And  many  an  earl's  son  will  be  glad  to  be  in 
his  place  a  score  years  hence,  if  he  will  but  learn 
what  I  know  you  two  can  teach  him.  And  now, 
Amyas,  my  lad,  I  will  tell  you  for  a  warning  the 
history  of  that  Sir  Thomas  Stukely  of  whom  I 
spoke  just  now,  and  who  was,  as  all  men  know,  a 
gallant  and  courtly  knight,  of  an  ancient  and  wor- 
shipful family  in  Ilfracombe,  well  practised  in  the 
wars,  and  well  beloved  at  first  by  our  incomparable 
queen,  the  friend  of  all  true  virtue,  as  I  trust  she 
will  be  of  yours  some  day ;  who  wanted  but  one 
step  to  greatness,  and  that  was  this,  .that  in  his 
hurry  to  rule  all  the  world,  he  forgot  to  rule  him- 


How  Mr.  Oxenham  saw  the  Bird     25 

self.  At  first,  he  wasted  his  estate  in  show  and 
luxury,  always  intending  to  be  famous,  and  de- 
stroying his  own  fame  all  the  while  by  his  vain- 
glory and  haste.  Then,  to  retrieve  his  losses,  he 
hit  upon  the  peopling  of  Florida,  which  thou  and 
I  will  see  done  some  day,  by  God's  blessing;  for  I 
and  some  good  friends  of  mine  have  an  errand 
there  as  well  as  he.  But  he  did  not  go  about  it  as 
a  loyal  man,  to  advance  the  honor  of  his  queen, 
but  his  own  honor  only,  dreaming  that  he  too 
should  be  a  king ;  and  was  not  ashamed  to  tell  her 
majesty  that  he  had  rather  be  sovereign  of  a  mole- 
hill than  the  highest  subject  of  an  emperor." 

"  They  say,"  said  Mr.  Leigh,  "  that  he  told  her 
plainly  he  should  be  a  prince  before  he  died,  and 
that  she  gave  him  one  of  her  pretty  quips  in 
return." 

"  I  don't  know  that  her  majesty  had  the  best  of 
it.  A  fool  is  many  times  too  strong  for  a  wise 
man,  by  virtue  of  his  thick  hide.  'For  when  she 
said  that  she  hoped  she  should  hear  from  him  in 
his  new  principality,  'Yes,  sooth,'  says  he,  gra- 
ciously enough.  'And  in  what  style?'  asks  she. 
'  To  our  dear  sister,'  says  Stukely :  to  which  her 
clemency  had  nothing  to  reply,  but  turned  away, 
as  Mr.  Burleigh  told  me,  laughing." 

"Alas  for  him  !  "  said  gentle  Mrs.  Leigh.  "Such 
self-conceit  —  and  Heaven  knows  we  have  the  root 
of  it  in  ourselves  also  —  is  the  very  daughter  of 
self-will,  and  of  that  loud  crying  out  about  I,  and 
me,  and  mine,  which  is  the  very  bird-call  for  all 
devils,  and  the  broad  road  which  leads  to  death." 

"  It  will  lead  him  to  his,"  said  Sir  Richard ;  "  God 
grant  it  be  not  upon  Tower-hill!  for  since  that 
Florida  plot,  and  after  that  his  hopes  of  Irish  pre- 


26  Westward  Ho ! 

ferment  came  to  naught,  he  who  could  not  help 
himself  by  fair  means  has  taken  to  foul  ones,  and 
gone  over  to  Italy  to  the  Pope,  whose  infallibility 
has  not  been  proof  against  Stukely's  wit;  for  he 
was  soon  his  Holiness's  closet  counsellor,  and, 
they  say,  his  bosom  friend;  and  made  him  give 
credit  to  his  boasts  that,  with  three  thousand 
soldiers  he  would  beat  the  English  out  of  Ire- 
land, and  make  the  Pope's  son  king  of  it." 

"  Ay,  but,"  said  Mr.  Leigh,  "  I  suppose  the 
Italians  have  the  same  fetch  now  as  they  had 
when  I  was  there,  to  explain  such  ugly  cases; 
namely,  that  the  Pope  is  infallible  only  in  doc- 
trine, and  quoad  Pope ;  while  quoad  hominem,  he 
is  even  as  others,  or  indeed,  in  general,  a  deal 
worse,  so  that  the  office,  and  not  the  man,  may  be 
glorified  thereby.  But  where  is  Stukely  now?" 

"  At  Rome  when  last  I  heard  of  him,  ruffling  it 
up  and  down  the  Vatican  as  Baron  Ross,  Viscount 
Murrough,  Earl  Wexford,  Marquis  Leinster,  and 
a  title  or  two  more,  which  have  cost  the  Pope 
little,  seeing  that  they  never  were  his  to  give ;  and 
plotting,  they  say,  some  hare-brained  expedition 
against  Ireland  by  the  help  of  the  Spanish  king, 
which  must  end  in  nothing  but  his  shame  and 
ruin.  And  now,  my  sweet  hosts,  I  must  call  for 
serving-boy  and  lantern,  and  home  to  my  bed  in 
Bideford." 

And  so  Amyas  Leigh  went  back  to  school,  and 
Mr.  Oxenham  went  his  way  to  Plymouth  again, 
and  sailed  for  the  Spanish  Main. 


CHAPTER  II 

HOW  AMYAS   CAME  HOME  THE  FIRST  TIME 

"  Si  taceant  homines,  facient  te  sidera  notum, 
Sol  nescit  comitis  immemor  esse  sui." 

Old  Epigram  on  Drake. 

FIVE  years  are  past  and  gone.  It  is  nine  of 
the  clock  on  a  still,  bright  November  morn- 
ing ;  but  the  bells  of  Bideford  church  are  still  ring- 
ing for  the  daily  service  two  hours  after  the  usual 
time;  and  instead  of  going  soberly  according  to 
wont,  cannot  help  breaking  forth  every  five  min- 
utes into  a  jocund  peal,  and  tumbling  head  over 
heels  in  ecstasies  of  joy.  Bideford  streets  are  a 
very  flower-garden  of  all  the  colors,  swarming 
with  seamen  and  burghers,  and  burghers'  wives 
and  daughters,  all  in  their  holiday  attire.  Gar- 
lands are  hung  across  the  streets,  and  tapestries 
from  every  window.  The  ships  in  the  pool  are 
dressed  in  all  their  flags,  and  give  tumultuous  vent 
to  their  feelings  by  peals  of  ordnance  of  every 
size.  Every  stable  is  crammed  with  horses ;  and 
Sir  Richard  Grenville's  house  is  like  a  very  tavern, 
with  eating  and  drinking,  and  unsaddling,  and 
running  to  and  fro  of  grooms  and  serving-men. 
Along  the  little  churchyard,  packed  full  with  wo- 
men, streams  all  the  gentle  blood  of  North  Devon, 
—  tall  and  stately  men,  and  fair  ladies,  worthy  of 
the  days  when  the  gentry  of  England  were  by  due 


28  Westward  Ho ! 

right  the  leaders  of  the  people,  by  personal  prow- 
ess and  beauty,  as  well  as  by  intellect  and  educa- 
tion. And  first,  there  is  my  lady  Countess  of 
Bath,  whom  Sir  Richard  Grenville  is  escorting,  cap 
in  hand  (for  her  good  Earl  Bourchier  is  in  London 
with  the  queen)  ;  and  there  are  Bassets  from  beau- 
tiful Umberleigh,  and  Carys  from  more  beautiful 
Clovelly,  and  Fortescues  of  Wear,  and  Fortescues 
of  Buckland,  and  Fortescues  from  all  quarters, 
and  Coles  from  Slade,  and  Stukelys  from  Affton, 
and  St.  Legers  from  Annery,  and  Coffins  from 
Portledge,  and  even  Coplestones  from  Eggesford, 
thirty  miles  away:  and  last,  but  not  least  (for 
almost  all  stop  to  give  them  place),  Sir  John 
Chichester  of  Ralegh,  followed  in  single  file,  after 
the  good  old  patriarchal  fashion,  by  his  eight 
daughters,  and  three  of  his  five  famous  sons  (one, 
to  avenge  his  murdered  brother,  is  fighting  val- 
iantly in  Ireland,  hereafter  to  rule  there  wisely 
also,  as  Lord  Deputy  and  Baron  of  Belfast) ;  and 
he  meets  at  the  gate  his  cousin  of  Arlington,  and 
behind  him  a  train  of  four  daughters  and  nineteen 
sons,  the  last  of  whom  has  not  yet  passed  the 
town-hall,  while  the  first  is  at  the  Lychgate,  who, 
laughing,  make  way  for  the  elder  though  shorter 
branch  of  that  most  fruitful  tree ;  and  so  on  into 
the  church,  where  all  are  placed  according  to  their 
degrees,  or  at  least  as  near  as  may  be,  not  with- 
out a  few  sour  looks,  and  shovings,  and  whisper- 
ings, from  one  high-born  matron  and  another; 
till  the  churchwardens  and  sidesmen,  who  never 
had  before  so  goodly  a  company  to  arrange,  have 
bustled  themselves  hot,  and  red,  and  frantic,  and 
end  by  imploring  abjectly  the  help  of  the  great 
Sir  Richard  himself  to  tell  them  who  everybody 


Amyas  Home  the  First  Time        29 

is,  and  which  is  the  elder  branch,  and  which  is 
the  younger,  and  who  carries  eight  quarterings  in 
their  arms,  and  who  only  four,  and  so  prevent 
their  setting  at  deadly  feud  half  the  fine  ladies  of 
North  Devon ;  for  the  old  men  are  all  safe  packed 
away  in  the  corporation  pews,  and  the  young  ones 
care  only  to  get  a  place  whence  they  may  eye  the 
ladies.  And  at  last  there  is  a  silence,  and  a  look- 
ing toward  the  door,  and  then  distant  music,  flutes 
and  hautboys,  drums  and  trumpets,  which  come 
braying,  and  screaming,  and  thundering  merrily 
up  to  the  very  church  doors,  and  then  cease ;  and 
the  churchwardens  and  sidesmen  bustle  down  to 
the  entrance,  rods  in  hand,  and  there  is  a  general 
whisper  and  rustle,  not  without  glad  tears  and 
blessings  from  many  a  woman,  and  from  some 
men  also,  as  the  wonder  of  the  day  enters,  and 
the  rector  begins,  not  the  morning  service,  but 
the  good  old  thanksgiving  after  a  victory  at  sea. 

And  what  is  it  which  has  thus  sent  old  Bideford 
wild  with  that  "  goodly  joy  and  pious  mirth,"  of 
which  we  now  only  retain  traditions  in  our  trans- 
lation of  the  Psalms?  Why  are  all  eyes  fixed,  with 
greedy  admiration,  on  those  four  weather-beaten 
mariners,  decked  out  with  knots  and  ribbons  by 
loving  hands ;  and  yet  more  on  that  gigantic  figure 
who  walks  before  them,  a  beardless  boy,  and  yet 
with  the  frame  and  stature  of  a  Hercules,  towering, 
like  Saul  of  old,  a  head  and  shoulders  above  all  the 
congregation,  with  his  golden  locks  flowing  down 
over  his  shoulders?  And  why,  as  the  five  go  in- 
stinctively up  to  the  altar,  and  there  fall  on  their 
knees  before  the  rails,  are  all  eyes  turned  to  the 
pew  where  Mrs.  Leigh  of  Burrough  has  hid  her 
face  between  her  hands,  and  her  hood  rustles  and 


30  Westward  Ho ! 

shakes  to  her  joyful  sobs?  Because  there  was 
fellow-feeling  of  old  in  merry  England,  in  county 
and  in  town ;  and  these  are  Devon  men,  and  men 
of  Bideford,  whose  names  are  Amyas  Leigh  of 
Burrough,  John  Staveley,  Michael  Heard,  and 
Jonas  Marshall  of  Bideford,  and  Thomas  Braund 
of  Clovelly:  and  they,  the  first  of  all  English 
mariners,  have  sailed  round  the  world  with  Francis 
Drake,  and  are  come  hither  to  give  God  thanks. 

It  is  a  long  story.  To  explain  how  it  happened 
we  must  go  back  for  a  page  or  two,  almost  to  the 
point  from  whence  we  started  in  the  last  chapter. 

For  somewhat  more  than  a  twelvemonth  after 
Mr.  Oxenham's  departure,  young  Amyas  had  gone 
on  quietly  enough,  according  to  promise,  with  the 
exception  of  certain  occasional  outbursts  of  fierce- 
ness common  to  all  young  male  animals,  and 
especially  to  boys  of  any  strength  of  character. 
His  scholarship,  indeed,  progressed  no  better  than 
before ;  but  his  home  education  went  on  healthily 
enough;  and  he  was  fast  becoming,  young  as  he 
was,  a  right  good  archer,  and  rider,  and  swords- 
man (after  the  old  school  of  buckler  practice), 
when  his  father,  having  gone  down  on  business  to 
the  Exeter  Assizes,  caught  (as  was  too  common 
in  those  days)  the  gaol-fever  from  the  prisoners; 
sickened  in  the  very  court;  and  died  within  a 
week. 

And  now  Mrs.  Leigh  was  left  to  God  and  her 
own  soul,  with  this  young  lion-cub  in  leash,  to 
tame  and  train  for  this  life  and  the  life  to  come. 
She  had  loved  her  husband  fervently  and  holily. 
He  had  been  often  peevish,  often  melancholy; 
for  he  was  a  disappointed  man,  with  an  estate 
impoverished  by  his  father's  folly,  and  his  own 


A  my  as  Home  the  First  Time       3 1 

youthful  ambition,  which  had  led  him  up  to 
Court,  and  made  him  waste  his  heart  and  his 
purse  in  following  a  vain  shadow.  He  was  one 
of  those  men,  moreover,  who  possess  almost 
every  gift  except  the  gift  of  the  power  to  use 
them ;  and  though  a  scholar,  a  courtier,  and  a 
soldier,  he  had  found  himself,  when  he  was  past 
forty,  without  settled  employment  or  aim  in  life, 
by  reason  of  a  certain  shyness,  pride,  or  delicate 
honor  (call  it  which  you  will),  which  had  always 
kept  him  from  playing  a  winning  game  in  that 
very  world  after  whose  prizes  he  hankered  to  the 
last,  and  on  which  he  revenged  himself  by  con- 
tinual grumbling.  At  last,  by  his  good  luck,  he 
met  with  a  fair  young  Miss  Foljambe,  of  Derby- 
shire, then  about  Queen  Elizabeth's  Court,  who 
was  as  tired  as  he  of  the  sins  of  the  world, 
though  she  had  seen  less  of  them ;  and  the  two 
contrived  to  please  each  other  so  well,  that  though 
the  queen  grumbled  a  little,  as  usual,  at  the  lady 
for  marrying,  and  at  the  gentleman  for  adoring 
any  one  but  her  royal  self,  they  got  leave  to  van- 
ish from  the  little  Babylon  at  Whitehall,  and  settle 
in  peace  at  Burrough.  In  her  he  found  a  treasure, 
and  he  knew  what  he  had  found. 

Mrs.  Leigh  was,  and  had  been  from  her  youth,  one 
of  those  noble  old  English  churchwomen,  without 
superstition,  and  without  severity,  who  are  among 
the  fairest  features  of  that  heroic  time.  There  was 
a  certain  melancholy  about  her,  nevertheless ;  for 
the  recollections  of  her  childhood  carried  her  back 
to  times  when  it  was  an  awful  thing  to  be  a 
Protestant.  She  could  remember  among  them, 
five-and-twenty  years  ago,  the  burning  of  poor 
blind  Joan  Waste  at  Derby,  and  of  Mistress  Joyce 


32  Westward  Ho ! 

Lewis,  too,  like  herself,  a  lady  born ;  and  some- 
times even  now,  in  her  nightly  dreams,  rang  in  her 
ears  her  mother's  bitter  cries  to  God,  either  to 
spare  her  that  fiery  torment,  or  to  give  her  strength 
to  bear  it,  as  she  whom  she  loved  had  borne  it 
before  her.  For  her  mother,  who  was  of  a  good 
family  in  Yorkshire,  had  been  one  of  Queen 
Catherine's  bedchamber  women,  and  the  bosom 
friend  and  disciple  of  Anne  Askew.  And  she  had 
sat  in  Smithfield,  with  blood  curdled  by  horror,  to 
see  the  hapless  Court  beauty,  a  month  before  the 
paragon  of  Henry's  Court,  carried  in  a  chair  (so 
crippled  was  she  by  the  rack)  to  her  fiery  doom  at 
the  stake,  beside  her  fellow-courtier,  Mr.  Lascelles, 
while  the  very  heavens  seemed  to  the  shuddering 
mob  around  to  speak  their  wrath  and  grief  in 
solemn  thunder  peals,  and  heavy  drops  which 
hissed  upon  the  crackling  pile. 

Therefore  a  sadness  hung  upon  her  all  her  life, 
and  deepened  in  the  days  of  Queen  Mary,  when, 
as  a  notorious  Protestant  and  heretic,  she  had  had 
to  hide  for  her  life  among  the  hills  and  caverns  of 
the  Peak,  and  was  only  saved  by  the  love  which 
her  husband's  tenants  bore  her,  and  by  his  bold 
declaration  that,  good  Catholic  as  he  was,  he 
would  run  through  the  body  any  constable,  jus- 
tice, or  priest,  yea,  bishop  or  cardinal,  who  dared 
to  serve  the  queen's  warrant  upon  his  wife. 

So  she  escaped :  but,  as  I  said,  a  sadness  hung 
upon  her  all  her  life ;  and  the  skirt  of  that  dark 
mantle  fell  upon  the  young  girl  who  had  been  the 
partner  of  her  wanderings  and  hidings  among  the 
lonely  hills ;  and  who,  after  she  was  married,  gave 
herself  utterly  up  to  God. 

And  yet  in  giving  herself  to  God,  Mrs.  Leigh  gave 


Amyas  Home  the  First  Time        33 

herself  to  her  husband,  her  children,  and  the  poor 
of  Northam  Town,  and  was  none  the  less  welcome 
to  the  Grenvilles,  and  Fortescues,  and  Chichesters, 
and  all  the  gentle  families  round,  who  honored 
her  husband's  talents,  and  enjoyed  his  wit.  She 
accustomed  herself  to  austerities,  which  often 
called  forth  the  kindly  rebukes  of  her  husband; 
and  yet  she  did  so  without  one  superstitious 
thought  of  appeasing  the  fancied  wrath  of  God,  or 
of  giving  Him  pleasure  (base  thought)  by  any 
pain  of  hers ;  for  her  spirit  had  been  trained  in  the 
freest  and  loftiest  doctrines  of  Luther's  school; 
and  that  little  mystic  "  Alt-Deutsch  Theologie  " 
(to  which  the  great  Reformer  said  that  he  owed 
more  than  to  any  book,  save  the  Bible,  and  St. 
Augustine)  was  her  counsellor  and  comforter  by 
day  and  night. 

And  now,  at  little  past  forty,  she  was  left  a 
widow:  lovely  still  in  face  and  figure;  and  still 
more  lovely  from  the  divine  calm  which  brooded, 
like  the  dove  of  peace  and  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God 
(which  indeed  it  was),  over  every  look,  and  word, 
and  gesture ;  a  sweetness  which  had  been  ripened 
by  storm,  as  well  as  by  sunshine;  which  this 
world  had  not  given,  and  could  not  take  away. 
No  wonder  that  Sir  Richard  and  Lady  Grenville 
loved  her ;  no  wonder  that  her  children  worshipped 
her ;  no  wonder  that  the  young  Amyas,  when  the 
first  burst  of  grief  was  over,  and  he  knew  again 
where  he  stood,  felt  that  a  new  life  had  begun  for 
him  ;  that  his  mother  was  no  more  to  think  and 
act  for  him  only,  but  that  he  must  think  and  act 
for  his  mother.  And  so  it  was,  that  on  the  very 
day  after  his  father's  funeral,  when  school-hours 
were  over,  instead  of  coming  straight  home,  he 


34  Westward  Ho! 

walked  boldly  into  Sir  Richard  Grenville's  house, 
and  asked  to  see  his  godfather. 

"  You  must  be  my  father  now,  sir,"  said  he, 
firmly. 

And  Sir  Richard  looked  at  the  boy's  broad 
strong  face,  and  swore  a  great  and  holy  oath,  like 
Glasgerion's,  "  by  oak,  and  ash,  and  thorn,"  that 
he  would  be  a  father  to  him,  and  a  brother  to  his 
mother,  for  Christ's  sake.  And  Lady  Grenville 
took  the  boy  by  the  hand,  and  walked  home  with 
him  to  Burrough ;  and  there  the  two  fair  women 
fell  on  each  other's  necks,  and  wept  together ;  the 
one  for  the  loss  which  had  been,  the  other,  as  by 
a  prophetic  instinct,  for  the  like  loss  which  was  to 
come  to  her  also.  For  the  sweet  St.  Leger  knew 
well  that  her  husband's  fiery  spirit  would  never 
leave  his  body  on  a  peaceful  bed ;  but  that  death 
(as  he  prayed  almost  nightly  that  it  might)  would 
find  him  sword  in  hand,  upon  the  field  of  duty  and 
of  fame.  And  there  those  two  vowed  everlasting 
sisterhood,  and  kept  their  vow ;  and  after  that  all 
things  went  on  at  Burrough  as  before ;  and  Amy  as 
rode,  and  shot,  and  boxed,  and  wandered  on  the 
quay  at  Sir  Richard's  side;  for  Mrs.  Leigh  was 
too  wise  a  woman  to  alter  one  tittle  of  the  training 
which  her  husband  had  thought  best  for  his 
younger  boy.  It  was  enough  that  her  elder  son 
had  of  his  own  accord  taken  to  that  form  of  life  in 
which  she  in  her  secret  heart  would  fain  have 
moulded  both  her  children.  For  Frank,  God's 
wedding  gift  to  that  pure  love  of  hers,  had  won 
himself  honor  at  home  and  abroad  ;  first  at  the 
school  at  Bideford ;  then  at  Exeter  College,  where 
he  had  become  a  friend  of  Sir  Philip  Sidney's,  and 
many  another  young  man  of  rank  and  promise; 


Amyas  Home  the  First  Time        35 

and  next,  in  the  summer  of  1572,  on  his  way  to  the 
University  of  Heidelberg,  he  had  gone  to  Paris, 
with  (luckily  for  him)  letters  of  recommendation 
to  Walsingham,  at  the  English  Embassy :  by  which 
letters  he  not  only  fell  in  a  second  time  with 
Philip  Sidney,  but  saved  his  own  life  (as  Sidney 
did  his)  in  the  Massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew's 
Day.  At  Heidelberg  he  had  stayed  two  years,  win- 
ning fresh  honor  from  all  who  knew  him,  and  resist- 
ing all  Sidney's  entreaties  to  follow  him  into  Italy. 
For,  scorning  to  be  a  burden  to  his  parents,  he 
had  become  at  Heidelberg  tutor  to  two  young 
German  princes,  whom,  after  living  with  them  at 
their  father's  house  for  a  year  or  more,  he  at  last, 
to  his  own  great  delight,  took  with  him  down  to 
Padua,  "  to  perfect  them,"  as  he  wrote  home, 
"  according  to  his  insufficiency,  in  all  princely 
studies."  Sidney  was  now  returned  to  England; 
but  Frank  found  friends  enough  without  him,  such 
letters  of  recommendation  and  diplomas  did  he 
carry  from  I  know  not  how  many  princes,  mag- 
nificos,  and  learned  doctors,  who  had  fallen  in 
love  with  the  learning,  modesty,  and  virtue  of  the 
fair  young  Englishman.  And  ere  Frank  returned 
to  Germany  he  had  satiated  his  soul  with  all  the 
wonders  of  that  wondrous  land.  He  had  talked 
over  the  art  of  sonneteering  with  Tasso,  the  art 
of  history  with  Sarpi;  he  had  listened,  between 
awe  and  incredulity,  to  the  daring  theories  of 
Galileo;  he  had  taken  his  pupils  to  Venice,  that 
their  portraits  might  be  painted  by  Paul  Vero- 
nese ;  he  had  seen  the  palaces  of  Palladio,  and  the 
merchant  princes  on  the  Rialto,  and  the  argosies 
of  Ragusa,  and  all  the  wonders  of  that  meeting- 
point  of  east  and  west;  he  had  watched  Tinto- 


36  Westward  Ho! 

retto's  mighty  hand  "  hurling  tempestuous  glories 
o'er  the  scene ;  "  and  even,  by  dint  of  private  in- 
tercession in  high  places,  had  been  admitted  to 
that  sacred  room  where,  with  long  silver  beard 
and  undimmed  eye,  amid  a  pantheon  of  his  own 
creations,  the  ancient  Titian,  patriarch  of  art,  still 
lingered  upon  earth,  and  told  old  tales  of  the 
Bellinis,  and  Raffaelle,  and  Michael  Angelo,  and 
the  building  of  St.  Peter's,  and  the  fire  at  Venice, 
and  the  sack  of  Rome,  and  of  kings  and  warriors, 
statesmen  and  poets,  long  since  gone  to  their  ac- 
count, and  showed  the  sacred  brush  which  Francis 
the  First  had  stooped  to  pick  up  for  him.  And 
(license  forbidden  to  Sidney  by  his  friend  Lan- 
guet)  he  had  been  to  Rome,  and  seen  (much  to 
the  scandal  of  good  Protestants  at  home)  that 
"  right  good  fellow,"  as  Sidney  calls  him,  who  had 
not  yet  eaten  himself  to  death,  the  Pope  for  the 
time  being.  And  he  had  seen  the  frescos  of  the 
Vatican,  and  heard  Palestrina  preside  as  chapel- 
master  over  the  performance  of  his  own  music 
beneath  the  dome  of  St.  Peter's,  and  fallen  half  in 
love  with  those  luscious  strains,  till  he  was  awak- 
ened from  his  dream  by  the  recollection  that  be- 
neath that  same  dome  had  gone  up  thanksgivings 
to  the  God  of  heaven  for  those  blood-stained 
streets,  and  shrieking  women,  and  heaps  of  in- 
sulted corpses,  which  he  had  beheld  in  Paris  on 
the  night  of  St.  Bartholomew.  At  last,  a  few 
months  before  his  father  died,  he  had  taken  back 
his  pupils  to  their  home  in  Germany,  from  whence 
he  was  dismissed,  as  he  wrote,  with  rich  gifts;  and 
then  Mrs.  Leigh's  heart  beat  high,  at  the  thought 
that  the  wanderer  would  return :  but,  alas  !  within 
a  month  after  his  father's  death,  came  a  long  letter 


Amyas  Home  the  First  Time         37 

from  Frank,  describing  the  Alps,  and  the  valleys 
of  the  Waldenses  (with  whose  Barbes  he  had  had 
much  talk  about  the  late  horrible  persecutions), 
and  setting  forth  how  at  Padua  he  had  made  the 
acquaintance  of  that  illustrious  scholar  and  light 
of  the  age,  Stephanus  Parmenius  (commonly  called 
from  his  native  place,  Budaeus),  who  had  visited 
Geneva  with  him,  and  heard  the  disputations  of 
their  most  learned  doctors,  which  both  he  and 
Budaeus  disliked  for  their  hard  judgments  both  of 
God  and  man,  as  much  as  they  admired  them  for 
their  subtlety,  being  themselves,  as  became  Italian 
students,  Platonists  of  the  school  of  Ficinus  and 
Picus  Mirandolensis.  So  wrote  Master  Frank,  in 
a  long  sententious  letter,  full  of  Latin  quotations : 
but  the  letter  never  reached  the  eyes  of  him  for 
whose  delight  it  had  been  penned :  and  the  widow 
had  to  weep  over  it  alone,  and  to  weep  more 
bitterly  than  ever  at  the  conclusion,  in  which,  with 
many  excuses,  Frank  said  that  he  had,  at  the 
special  entreaty  of  the  said  Budaeus,  set  out  with 
him  down  the  Danube  stream  to  Buda,  that  he 
might,  before  finishing  his  travels,  make  experi- 
ence of  that  learning  for  which  the  Hungarians 
were  famous  throughout  Europe.  And  after  that, 
though  he  wrote  again  and  again  to  the.  father 
whom  he  fancied  living,  no  letter  in  return  reached 
him  from  home  for  nearly  two  years ;  till,  fear- 
ing some  mishap,  he  hurried  back  to  England,  to 
find  his  mother  a  widow,  and  his  brother  Amyas 
gone  to  the  South  Seas  with  Captain  Drake  of 
Plymouth.  And  yet,  even  then,  after  years  of 
absence,  he  was  not  allowed  to  remain  at  home. 
For  Sir  Richard,  to  whom  idleness  was  a  thing 
horrible  and  unrighteous,  would  have  him  up  and 


38  Westward  Ho! 

doing  again  before  six  months  were  over,  and  sent 
him  off  to  Court  to  Lord  Hunsdon. 

There,  being  as  delicately  beautiful  as  his  brother 
was  huge  and  strong,  he  had  speedily,  by  Carew's 
interest  and  that  of  Sidney  and  his  Uncle  Leicester, 
found  entrance  into  some  office  in  the  queen's 
household ;  and  he  was  now  basking  in  the  full  sun- 
shine of  Court  favor,  and  fair  ladies'  eyes,  and  all 
the  chivalries  and  euphuisms  of  Gloriana's  fairy- 
land, and  the  fast  friendship  of  that  bright  meteor 
Sidney,  who  had  returned  with  honor  in  1577,  from 
the  delicate  mission  on  behalf  of  the  German  and 
Belgian  Protestants,  on  which  he  had  been  sent  to 
the  Court  of  Vienna,  under  color  of  condoling  with 
the  new  Emperor  Rodolph  on  his  father's  death. 
Frank  found  him  when  he  himself  came  to  Court 
in  1579  as  lovely  and  loving  as  ever;  and,  at  the 
early  age  of  twenty-five,  acknowledged  as  one  of 
the  most  remarkable  men  of  Europe,  the  patron  of 
all  men  of  letters,  the  counsellor  of  warriors  and 
statesmen,  and  the  confidant  and  advocate  of 
William  of  Orange,  Languet,  Plessis  du  Mornay, 
and  all  the  Protestant  leaders  on  the  Continent; 
and  found,  moreover,  that  the  son  of  the  poor 
Devon  squire  was  as  welcome  as  ever  to  the 
friendship  of  nature's  and  fortune's  most  favored, 
yet  most  unspoilt,  minion. 

Poor  Mrs.  Leigh,  as  one  who  had  long  since 
learned  to  have  no  self,  and  to  live  not  only  for  her 
children  but  in  them,  submitted  without  a  mur- 
mur, and  only  said,  smiling,  to  her  stern  friend  — 
"You  took  away  my  mastiff-pup,  and  now  you 
must  needs  have  my  fair  greyhound  also." 

"Would  you  have  your  fair  greyhound,  dear 
lady,  grow  up  a  tall  and  true  Cotswold  dog,  that 


Amyas  Home  the  First  Time        39 

can  pull  down  a  stag  of  ten,  or  one  of  those 
smooth-skinned  poppets  which  the  Florence  ladies 
lead  about  with  a  ring  of  bells  round  its  neck,  and 
a  flannel  farthingale  over  its  loins?" 

Mrs.  Leigh  submitted ;  and  was  rewarded  after 
a  few  months  by  a  letter,  sent  through  Sir  Richard, 
from  none  other  than  Gloriana  herself,  in  which 
she  thanked  her  for  "  the  loan  of  that  most  deli- 
cate and  flawless  crystal,  the  soul  of  her  excellent 
son,"  with  more  praises  of  him  than  I  have  room 
to  insert,  and  finished  by  exalting  the  poor  mother 
above  the  famed  Cornelia ;  "  for  those  sons,  whom 
she  called  her  jewels,  she  only  showed,  yet  kept 
them  to  herself:  but  you,  madam,  having  two  as 
precious,  I  doubt  not,  as  were  ever  that  Roman 
dame's,  have,  beyond  her  courage,  lent  them  both 
to  your  country  and  to  your  queen,  who  therein 
holds  herself  indebted  to  you  for  that  which,  if 
God  give  her  grace,  she  will  repay  as  becomes 
both  her  and  you."  Which  epistle  the  sweet 
mother  bedewed  with  holy  tears,  and  laid  by  in 
the  cedar-box  which  held  her  household  gods,  by 
the  side  of  Frank's  innumerable  diplomas  and 
letters  of  recommendation,  the  Latin  whereof  she 
was  always  spelling  over  although  she  under- 
stood not  a  word  of  it),  in  hopes  of  finding,  here 
and  there,  that  precious  excellentissimus  Noster 
Franciscus  Leighius  Angltts,  which  was  all  in  all  to 
the  mother's  heart. 

But  why  did  Amyas  go  to  the  South  Seas? 
Amyas  went  to  the  South  Seas  for  two  causes, 
each  of  which  has,  before  now,  sent  many  a  lad  to 
far  worse  places :  first,  because  of  an  old  school- 
master; secondly,  because  of  a  young  beauty.  I 
will  take  them  in  order  and  explain. 


40  Westward  Ho ! 

Vindex  Brimblecombe,  whilom  servitor  of  Exeter 
College,  Oxford  (commonly  called  Sir  Vindex, 
after  the  fashion  of  the  times),  was,  in  those  days, 
master  of  the  grammar-school  of  Bideford.  He 
was,  at  root,  a  godly  and  kind-hearted  pedant 
enough;  but,  like  most  schoolmasters  in  the  old 
flogging  days,  had  his  heart  pretty  well  hardened 
by  long,  baneful  license  to  inflict  pain  at  will  on 
those  weaker  than  himself;  a  power  healthful 
enough  for  the  victim  (for,  doubtless,  flogging  is 
the  best  of  all  punishments,  being  not  only  the 
shortest,  but  also  a  mere  bodily  and  animal,  and 
not,  like  most  of  our  new-fangled  "  humane  "  pun- 
ishments, a  spiritual  and  fiendish  torture),  but  for 
the  executioner  pretty  certain  to  eradicate,  from  all 
but  the  noblest  spirits,  every  trace  of  chivalry  and 
tenderness  for  the  weak,  as  well,  often,  as  all  self- 
control  and  command  of  temper.  Be  that  as  it 
may,  old  Sir  Vindex  had  heart  enough  to  feel  that 
it  was  now  his  duty  to  take  especial  care  of  the 
fatherless  boy  to  whom  he  tried  to  teach  his  qui, 
qua,  quod:  but  the  only  outcome  of  that  new  sense 
of  responsibility  was  a  rapid  increase  in  the  num- 
ber of  floggings,  which  rose  from  about  two  a  week 
to  one  per  diem,  not  without  consequences  to  the 
pedagogue  himself. 

For  all  this  while,  Amyas  had  never  for  a 
moment  lost  sight  of  his  darling  desire  for  a  sea- 
life  ;  and  when  he  could  not  wander  on  the  quay 
and  stare  at  the  shipping,  or  go  down  to  the 
pebble-ridge  at  Northam,  and  there  sit,  devour- 
ing, with  hungry  eyes,  the  great  expanse  of 
ocean,  which  seemed  to  woo  him  outward  into 
boundless  space,  he  used  to  console  himself,  in 
school-hours,  by  drawing  ships  and  imaginary 


Amyas  Home  the  First  Time        41 

charts   upon    his   slate,   instead    of    minding    his 
"  humanities." 

Now  it  befell,  upon  an  afternoon,  that  he  was 
very  busy  at  a  map,  or  bird's-eye  view  of  an  island, 
whereon  was  a  great  castle,  and  at  the  gate  thereof 
a  dragon,  terrible  to  see ;  while  in  the  foreground 
came  that  which  was  meant  for  a  gallant  ship,  with 
a  great  flag  aloft,  but  which,  by  reason  of  the 
forest  of  lances  with  which  it  was  crowded,  looked 
much  more  like  a  porcupine  carrying  a  sign-post ; 
and,  at  the  roots  of  those  lances,  many  little  round 
o's,  whereby  was  signified  the  heads  of  Amyas  and 
his  schoolfellows,  who  were  about  to  slay  that 
dragon,  and  rescue  the  beautiful  princess  who 
dwelt  in  that  enchanted  tower.  To  behold  which 
marvel  of  art,  all  the  other  boys  at  the  same  desk 
must  needs  club  their  heads  together,  and  with  the 
more  security,  because  Sir  Vindex,  as  was  his  cus- 
tom after  dinner,  was  lying  back  in  his  chair,  and 
slept  the  sleep  of  the  just. 

But  when  Amyas,  by  special  instigation  of  the 
evil  spirit  who  haunts  successful  artists,  proceeded 
further  to  introduce,  heedless  of  perspective,  a 
rock,  on  which  stood  the  lively  portraiture  of  Sir 
Vindex — nose,  spectacles,  gown,  and  all;  and  in 
his  hand  a  brandished  rod,  while  out  of  his  mouth 
a  label  shrieked  after  the  runaways,  "  You  come 
back !  "  while  a  similar  label  replied  from  the  gal- 
lant bark,  "  Good-bye,  master !  "  the  shoving  and 
tittering  rose  to  such  a  pitch  that  Cerberus  awoke, 
and  demanded  sternly  what  the  noise  was  about. 
To  which,  of  course,  there  was  no  answer. 

"  You,  of  course,  Leigh !  Come  up,  sir,  and 
show  me  your  exercitation." 

Now  of  Amyas's  exercitation  not  a  word  was 

Vol.  8—3 


42  Westward  Ho  ! 

written ;  and,  moreover,  he  was  in  the  very  article 
of  putting  the  last  touches  to  Mr.  Brimblecombe's 
portrait.  Whereon,  to  the  astonishment  of  all 
hearers,  he  made  answer  — 

"All  in  good  time,  sir ! "  and  went  on  drawing. 

"  In  good  time,  sir !     Insolent,  veni  et  vapula!  " 

But  Amyas  went  on  drawing. 

"  Come  hither,  sirrah,  or  I  '11  flay  you  alive !  " 

"  Wait  a  bit !  "  answered  Amyas. 

The  old  gentleman  jumped  up,  ferula  in  hand, 
and  darted  across  the  school,  and  saw  himself 
upon  the  fatal  slate. 

" Proh  flagitium  !  what  have  we  here,  villain?" 
and  clutching  at  his  victim,  he  raised  the  cane. 
Whereupon,  with  a  serene  and  cheerful  counte- 
nance, up  rose  the  mighty  form  of  Amyas  Leigh, 
a  head  and  shoulders  above  his  tormentor,  and 
that  slate  descended  on  the  bald  coxcomb  of  Sir 
Vindex  Brimblecombe,  with  so  shrewd  a  blow 
that  slate  and  pate  cracked  at  the  same  instant, 
and  the  poor  pedagogue  dropped  to  the  floor,  and 
lay  for  dead. 

After  which  Amyas  arose,  and  walked  out  of  the 
school,  and  so  quietly  home ;  and  having  taken 
counsel  with  himself,  went  to  his  mother,  and 
said,  "  Please,  mother,  I  've  broken  schoolmaster's 
head." 

"  Broken  his  head,  thou  wicked  boy !  "  shrieked 
the  poor  widow;  "  what  didst  do  that  for?  " 

"  I  can't  tell,"  said  Amyas,  penitently ;  "  I  could  n't 
help  it.  It  looked  so  smooth,  and  bald,  and  round, 
and  —  you  know?" 

"I  know?  Oh,  wicked  boy!  thou  hast  given 
place  to  the  devil;  and  now,  perhaps,  thou  hast 
killed  him." 


Amyas  Home  the  First  Time        43 

"Killed  the  devil?"  asked  Amyas,  hopefully 
but  doubtfully. 

"  No,  killed  the  schoolmaster,  sirrah !  Is  he 
dead?" 

"  I  don't  think  he 's  dead  ;  his  coxcomb  sounded 
too  hard  for  that  But  had  not  I  better  go  and 
tell  Sir  Richard?" 

The  poor  mother  could  hardly  help  laughing,  in 
spite  of  her  terror,  at  Amyas's  perfect  coolness 
(which  was  not  in  the  least  meant  for  insolence), 
and  being  at  her  wits'  end,  sent  him,  as  usual,  to 
his  godfather. 

Amyas  rehearsed  his  story  again,  with  pretty 
nearly  the  same  exclamations,  to  which  he  gave 
pretty  nearly  the  same  answers ;  and  then  — 

"What  was  he  going  to  do  to  you,  then, 
sirrah?" 

"Flog  me,  because  I  could  not  write  my  exer- 
cise, and  so  drew  a  picture  of  him  instead." 

"  What !  art  afraid  of  being  flogged  ?  " 

"  Not  a  bit ;  besides,  I  'm  too  much  accustomed 
to  it;  but  I  was  busy,  and  he  was  in  such  a 
desperate  hurry;  and,  oh,  sir,  if  you  had  but 
seen  his  bald  head,  you  would  have  broken  it 
yourself! " 

Now  Sir  Richard  had,  twenty  years  ago,  in  like 
place,  and  very  much  in  like  manner,  broken  the 
head  of  Vindex  Brimblecombe's  father,  schoolmas- 
ter in  his  day,  and  therefore  had  a  precedent  to 
direct  him ;  and  he  answered  — 

"  Amyas,  sirrah !  those  who  cannot  obey  will 
never  be  fit  to  rule.  If  thou  canst  not  keep  dis- 
cipline now,  thou  wilt  never  make  a  company  or 
a  crew  keep  it  when  thou  art  grown.  Dost  mind 
that,  sirrah?" 


44  Westward  Ho  ! 

"  Yes,"  said  Amyas. 

"  Then  go  back  to  school  this  moment,  sir,  and 
be  flogged." 

"  Very  well,"  said  Amyas,  considering  that  he  had 
got  off  very  cheaply ;  while  Sir  Richard,  as  soon 
as  he  was  out  of  the  room,  lay  back  in  his  chair, 
and  laughed  till  he  cried  again. 

So  Amyas  went  back,  and  said  that  he  was 
come  to  be  flogged ;  whereon  the  old  school- 
master, whose  pate  had  been  plastered  meanwhile, 
wept  tears  of  joy  over  the  returning  prodigal,  and 
then  gave  him  such  a  switching  as  he  did  not 
forget  for  eight-and-forty  hours. 

But  that  evening  Sir  Richard  sent  for  old 
Vindex,  who  entered,  trembling,  cap  in  hand ;  and 
having  primed  him  with  a  cup  of  sack,  said  — 

"  Well,  Mr.  Schoolmaster !  My  godson  has 
been  somewhat  too  much  for  you  to-day.  There 
are  a  couple  of  nobles  to  pay  the  doctor." 

"  O  Sir  Richard,  gratias  tibi  et  Domino  !  but  the 
boy  hits  shrewdly  hard.  Nevertheless  I  have  re- 
paid him  in  inverse  kind,  and  set  him  an  imposi- 
tion, to  learn  me  one  of  Phaedrus  his  fables,  Sir 
Richard,  if  you  do  not  think  it  too  much." 

"Which,  then?  The  one  about  the  man  who 
brought  up  a  lion's  cub,  and  was  eaten  by  him  in 
play  at  last?  " 

"  Ah,  Sir  Richard  !  you  have  always  a  merry 
wit.  But,  indeed,  the  boy  is  a  brave  boy,  and  a 
quick  boy,  Sir  Richard,  but  more  forgetful  than 
Lethe ;  and  —  sapienti  loquor  —  it  were  well  if  he 
were  away,  for  I  shall  never  see  him  again  without 
my  head  aching.  Moreover,  he  put  my  son  Jack 
upon  the  fire  last  Wednesday,  as  you  would  put 
a  football,  though  he  is  a  year  older,  your  wor- 


Amyas  Home  the  First  Time        45 

ship,  because,  he  said,  he  looked  so  like  a  roasting 
pig,  Sir  Richard." 
"  Alas,  poor  Jack !  " 

"  And  what 's  more,  your  worship,  he  is  pugnax, 
bellicosus,  gladiator,  a  fire-eater  and  swash-buckler, 
beyond  all  Christian  measure;  a  very  sucking 
Entellus,  Sir  Richard,  and  will  do  to  death  some 
of  her  majesty's  lieges  erelong,  if  he  be  not  wisely 
curbed.  It  was  but  a  month  agone  that  he  be- 
moaned himself,  I  hear,  as  Alexander  did,  because 
there  were  no  more  worlds  to  conquer,  saying  that 
it  was  a  pity  he  was  so  strong;  for,  now  he  had 
thrashed  all  the  Bideford  lads,  he  had  no  sport 
left;  and  so,  as  my  Jack  tells  me,  last  Tuesday 
week  he  fell  upon  a  young  man  of  Barnstaple,  Sir 
Richard,  a  hosier's  man,  sir,  and  plebeius  (which 
I  consider  unfit  for  one  of  his  blood),  and,  more- 
over, a  man  full  grown,  and  as  big  as  either  of  us 
(Vindex  stood  five  feet  four  in  his  high-heeled 
shoes),  and  smote  him  clean  over  the  quay  into 
the  mud,  because  he  said  that  there  was  a  prettier 
maid  in  Barnstaple  (your  worship  will  forgive  my 
speaking  of  such  toys,  to  which  my  fidelity  com- 
pels me)  than  ever  Bideford  could  show ;  and  then 
offered  to  do  the  same  to  any  man  who  dare 
say  that  Mistress  Rose  Salterne,  his  worship  the 
mayor's  daughter,  was  not  the  fairest  lass  in  all 
Devon." 

"  Eh?  Say  that  over  again,  my  good  sir,"  quoth 
Sir  Richard,  who  had  thus  arrived,  as  we  have  seen, 
at  the  second  count  of  the  indictment.  "  I  say, 
good  sir,  whence  dost  thou  hear  all  these  pretty 
stories?" 

"  My  son  Jack,  Sir  Richard,  my  son  Jack,  ingenui 
vultus  puer" 


46  Westward  Ho  ! 

"  But  not,  it  seems,  ingenui  pudoris.  Tell  thee 
what,  Mr.  Schoolmaster,  no  wonder  if  thy  son  gets 
put  on  the  fire,  if  thou  employ  him  as  a  tale- 
bearer. But  that  is  the  way  of  all  pedagogues 
and  their  sons,  by  which  they  train  the  lads  up 
eavesdroppers  and  favor-curriers,  and  prepare  them 
— sirrah,  do  you  hear?  — for  a  much  more  lasting 
and  hotter  fire  than  that  which  has  scorched  thy 
son  Jack's  nether-tackle.  Do  you  mark  me,  sir?  " 

The  poor  pedagogue,  thus  cunningly  caught  in 
his  own  trap,  stood  trembling  before  his  patron, 
who,  as  hereditary  head  of  the  Bridge  Trust,  which 
endowed  the  school  and  the  rest  of  the  Bideford 
charities,  could,  by  a  turn  of  his  finger,  sweep  him 
forth  with  the  besom  of  destruction ;  and  he  gasped 
with  terror  as  Sir  Richard  went  on  — 

"  Therefore,  mind  you,  Sir  Schoolmaster,  unless 
you  shall  promise  me  never  to  hint  word  of  what 
has  passed  between  us  two,  and  that  neither  you 
nor  yours  shall  henceforth  carry  tales  of  my  god- 
son, or  speak  his  name  within  a  day's  march  of 
Mistress  Salterne's,  look  to  it,  if  I  do  not " 

What  was  to  be  done  in  default  was  not  spoken ; 
for  down  went  poor  old  Vindex  on  his  knees :  — 

"  Oh,  Sir  Richard !  Excel lentissime,  immb 
prcecelsissime  Doming  et  Senator,  I  promise !  O 
sir,  Miles  et  Eques  of  the  Garter,  Bath,  and  Golden 
Fleece,  consider  your  dignities,  and  my  old  age  — 
and  my  great  family  —  nine  children  —  oh,  Sir 
Richard,  and  eight  of  them  girls !  —  Do  eagles 
war  with  mice?  says  the  ancient!  " 

"Thy  large  family,  eh?  How  old  is  that  fat- 
witted  son  of  thine?" 

"  Sixteen,  Sir  Richard ;  but  that  is  not  his  fault, 
indeed  I  " 


Amyas  Home  the  First  Time        47 

"Nay,  I  suppose  he  would  be  still  sucking  his 
thumb  if  he  dared  —  get  up,  man  —  get  up  and 
seat  yourself." 

"  Heaven  forbid !  "  murmured  poor  Vindex, 
with  deep  humility. 

"  Why  is  not  the  rogue  at  Oxford,  with  a  mur- 
rain on  him,  instead  of  lurching  about  here  carry- 
ing tales  and  ogling  the  maidens?" 

"  I  had  hoped,  Sir  Richard  —  and  therefore  I 
said  it  was  not  his  fault  —  but  there  was  never  a 
servitorship  at  Exeter  open." 

"  Go  to,  man  —  go  to !  I  will  speak  to  my 
brethren  of  the  Trust,  and  to  Oxford  he  shall  go 
this  autumn,  or  else  to  Exeter  gaol,  for  a  strong 
rogue,  and  a  masterless  man.  Do  you  hear?" 

"Hear? — oh,  sir,  yes!  and  return  thanks. 
Jack  shall  go,  Sir  Richard,  doubt  it  not  —  I 
were  mad  else;  and,  Sir  Richard,  may  I  go 
too?" 

And  therewith  Vindex  vanished,  and  Sir  Richard 
enjoyed  a  second  mighty  laugh,  which  brought  in 
Lady  Grenville,  who  possibly  had  overheard  the 
whole ;  for  the  first  words  she  said  were  — 

"  I  think,  my  sweet  life,  we  had  better  go  up  to 
Burrough." 

So  to  Burrough  they  went ;  and  after  much  talk, 
and  many  tears,  matters  were  so  concluded  that 
Amyas  Leigh  found  himself  riding  joyfully  towards 
Plymouth,  by  the  side  of  Sir  Richard,  and  being 
handed  over  to  Captain  Drake,  vanished  for  three 
years  from  the  good  town  of  Bideford. 

And  now  he  is  returned  in  triumph,  and  the 
observed  of  all  observers ;  and  looks  round  and 
round,  and  sees  all  faces  whom  he  expects,  except 
one :  and  that  the  one  which  he  had  rather  see 


48  Westward  Ho  ! 

than  his  mother's  ?     He  is  not  quite  sure.     Shame 
on  himself! 

And  now  the  prayers  being  ended,  the  rector 
ascends  the  pulpit,  and  begins  his  sermon  on  the 
text :  — 

"  The  heaven  and  the  heaven  of  heavens  are  the 
Lord's;  the  whole  earth  hath  he  given  to  the  chil- 
dren of  men ;  "  deducing  therefrom  craftily,  to  the 
exceeding  pleasure  of  his  hearers,  the  iniquity  of 
the  Spaniards  in  dispossessing  the  Indians,  and  in 
arrogating  to  themselves  the  sovereignty  of  the 
tropic  seas;  the  vanity  of  the  Pope  of  Rome  in 
pretending  to  bestow  on  them  the  new  countries 
of  America;  and  the  justice,  valor,  and  glory  of 
Mr.  Drake  and  his  expedition,  as  testified  by 
God's  miraculous  protection  of  him  and  his,  both 
in  the  Straits  of  Magellan,  and  in  his  battle  with 
the  Galleon ;  and  last,  but  not  least,  upon  the 
rock  by  Celebes,  when  the  Pelican  lay  for  hours 
firmly  fixed,  and  was  floated  off  unhurt,  as  it  were 
by  miracle,  by  a  sudden  shift  of  wind. 

Ay,  smile,  reader,  if  you  will;  and,  perhaps, 
there  was  matter  for  a  smile  in  that  honest  ser- 
mon, interlarded,  as  it  was,  with  scraps  of  Greek 
and  Hebrew,  which  no  one  understood,  but  every 
one  expected  as  their  right  (for  a  preacher  was 
nothing  then  who  could  not  prove  himself  "a 
good  Latiner");  and  graced,  moreover,  by  a 
somewhat  pedantic  and  lengthy  refutation  from 
Scripture  of  Dan  Horace's  cockney  horror  of  the 
sea  — 

"  I1H  robur  et  aes  triplex,"  etc. 

and  his  infidel  and  ungodly  slander   against  the 
impias  rates,  and  their  crews. 


Amyas  Home  the  First  Time        49 

Smile,  if  you  will :  but  those  were  days  (and 
there  were  never  less  superstitious  ones)  in  which 
Englishmen  believed  in  the  living  God,  and  were 
not  ashamed  to  acknowledge,  as  a  matter  of 
course,  His  help  and  providence,  and  calling,  in 
the  matters  of  daily  life,  which  we  now  in  our 
covert  atheism  term  "  secular  and  carnal ;  "  and 
when,  the  sermon  ended,  the  communion  service 
had  begun,  and  the  bread  and  the  wine  were  given 
to  those  five  mariners,  every  gallant  gentleman 
who  stood  near  them  (for  the  press  would  not 
allow  of  more)  knelt  and  received  the  elements 
with  them  as  a  thing  of  course,  and  then  rose  to 
join  with  heart  and  voice  not  merely  in  the  Gloria 
in  Excelsis,  but  in  the  Te  Deum,  which  was  the 
closing  act  of  all.  And  no  sooner  had  the  clerk 
given  out  the  first  verse  of  that  great  hymn,  than 
it  was  taken  up  by  five  hundred  voices  within  the 
church,  in  bass  and  tenor,  treble  and  alto  (for 
every  one  could  sing  in  those  days,  and  the  west- 
country  folk,  as  now,  were  fuller  than  any  of 
music),  the  chant  was  caught  up  by  the  crowd 
outside,  and  rang  away  over  roof  and  river,  up  to 
the  woods  of  Annery,  and  down  to  the  marshes  of 
the  Taw,  in  wave  on  wave  of  harmony.  And  as  it 
died  away,  the  shipping  in  the  river  made  answer 
with  their  thunder,  and  the  crowd  streamed  out 
again  toward  the  Bridge  Head,  whither  Sir  Richard 
Grenville,  and  Sir  John  Chichester,  and  Mr.  Sal- 
terne,  the  Mayor,  led  the  five  heroes  of  the  day  to 
await  the  pageant  which  had  been  prepared  in 
honor  of  them.  And  as  they  went  by,  there  were 
few  in  the  crowd  who  did  not  press  forward  to 
shake  them  by  the  hand,  and  not  only  them,  but 
their  parents  and  kinsfolk  who  walked  behind,  till 


50  Westward  Ho  ! 

Mrs.  Leigh,  her  stately  joy  quite  broken  down  at 
last,  could  only  answer  between  her  sobs,  "  Go 
along,  good  people  —  God  a  mercy,  go  along  — 
and  God  send  you  all  such  sons !  " 

"  God  give  me  back  mine !  "  cried  an  old  red- 
cloaked  dame  in  the  crowd ;  and  then,  struck  by 
some  hidden  impulse,  she  sprang  forward,  and 
catching  hold  of  young  Amyas's  sleeve  — 

"  Kind  sir !  dear  sir !  For  Christ  his  sake  answer 
a  poor  old  widow  woman  !  " 

"What  is  it,  dame?"  quoth  Amyas,  gently 
enough. 

"Did  you  see  my  son  to  the  Indies?  —  my  son 
Salvation?" 

"  Salvation?"  replied  he,  with  the  air  of  one 
who  recollected  the  name. 

"  Yes,  sure,  Salvation  Yeo,  of  Clovelly.  A  tall 
man  and  black,  and  sweareth  awfully  in  his  talk, 
the  Lord  forgive  him  !  " 

Amyas  recollected  now.  It  was  the  name  of 
the  sailor  who  had  given  him  the  wondrous  horn 
five  years  ago. 

"  My  good  dame,"  said  he,  "  the  Indies  are  a 
very  large  place,  and  your  son  may  be  safe  and 
sound  enough  there,  without  my  having  seen 
him.  I  knew  one  Salvation  Yeo.  But  he  must 

have  come  with By  the  by,  godfather,  has 

Mr.  Oxenham  come  home?" 

There  was  a  dead  silence  for  a  moment  among 
the  gentlemen  round ;  and  then  Sir  Richard  said 
solemnly,  and  in  a  low  voice,  turning  away  from 
the  old  dame, — 

"Amyas,  Mr.  Oxenham  has  not  come  home; 
and  from  the  day  he  sailed,  no  word  has  been 
heard  of  him  and  all  his  crew." 


Amyas  Home  the  First  Time        51 

"  Oh,  Sir  Richard !  and  you  kept  me  from  sail- 
ing with  him !  Had  I  known  this  before  I  went 
into  church,  I  had  had  one  mercy  more  to  thank 
God  for." 

"  Thank  Him  all  the  more  in  thy  life,  my  child  ! " 
whispered  his  mother. 

"And  no  news  of  him  whatsoever?" 

"None;  but  that  the  year  after  he  sailed,  a  ship 
belonging  to  Andrew  Barker,  of  Bristol,  took  out 
of  a  Spanish  caravel,  somewhere  off  the  Honduras, 
his  two  brass  guns;  but  whence  they  came  the 
Spaniard  knew  not,  having  bought  them  at 
Nombre  de  Dios." 

"  Yes  !  "  cried  the  old  woman  ;  "  they  brought 
home  the  guns  and  never  brought  home  my 
boy!" 

"They  never  saw  your  boy,  mother,"  said  Sir 
Richard. 

"  But  I  've  seen  him !  I  saw  him  in  a  dream 
four  years  last  Whitsuntide,  as  plain  as  I  see  you 
now,  gentles,  a-lying  upon  a  rock,  calling  for  a 
drop  of  water  to  cool  his  tongue,  like  Dives  to 
the  torment !  Oh  !  dear  me  !  "  and  the  old  dame 
wept  bitterly. 

"  There  is  a  rose  noble  for  you ! "  said  Mrs. 
Leigh. 

"  And  there  another  !  "  said  Sir  Richard.  And 
in  a  few  minutes  four  or  five  gold  coins  were  in 
her  hand.  But  the  old  dame  did  but  look  won- 
deringly  at  the  gold  a  moment,  and  then  — 

"  Ah !  dear  gentles,  God's  blessing  on  you,  and 
Mr.  Gary's  mighty  good  to  me  already;  but  gold 
won't  buy  back  childer  !  O  !  young  gentleman  ! 
young  gentleman  !  make  me  a  promise ;  if  you  want 
God's  blessing  on  you  this  day,  bring  me  back  my 


52  Westward  Hoi 

boy,  if  you  find  him  sailing  on  the  seas  !    Bring  him 
back,  and  an  old  widow's  blessing  be  on  you  !  " 

Amyas  prom  sed  —  what  else  could  he  do  ?  — 
and  the  group  hurried  on;  but  the  lad's  heart 
was  heavy  in  the  midst  of  joy,  with  the  thought 
of  John  Oxenham,  as  he  walked  through  the 
churchyard,  and  down  the  short  street  which 
led  between  the  ancient  school  and  still  more 
ancient  town-house,  to  the  head  of  the  long 
bridge,  across  which  the  pageant,  having  ar- 
ranged "  east-the-water,"  was  to  defile,  and  then 
turn  to  the  right  along  the  quay. 

However,  he  was  bound  in  all  courtesy  to  turn 
his  attention  now  to  the  show  which  had  been  pre- 
pared in  his  honor,  and  which  was  really  well 
enough  worth  seeing  and  hearing.  The  English 
were,  in  those  days,  an  altogether  dramatic  people ; 
ready  and  able,  as  in  Bideford  that  day,  to  extem- 
porize a  pageant,  a  masque,  or  any  effort  of  the 
Thespian  art  short  of  the  regular  drama.  For 
they  were,  in  the  first  place,  even  down  to  the 
very  poorest,  a  well-fed  people,  with  fewer 
luxuries  than  we,  but  more  abundant  necessaries ; 
and  while  beef,  ale,  and  good  woollen  clothes 
could  be  obtained  in  plenty,  without  overwork- 
ing either  body  or  soul,  men  had  time  to  amuse 
themselves  in  something  more  intellectual  than 
mere  toping  in  pot-houses.  Moreover,  the  half 
century  after  the  Reformation  in  England  was  one 
not  merely  of  new  intellectual  freedom,  but  of 
immense  animal  good  spirits.  After  years  of 
dumb  confusion  and  cruel  persecution,  a  breath- 
ing time  had  come :  Mary  and  the  fires  of  Smith- 
field  had  vanished  together  like  a  hideous  dream, 
and  the  mighty  shout  of  joy  which  greeted  Eliza- 


Amyas  Home  the  First  Time         53 

beth's  entry  into  London,  was  the  key-note  of  fifty 
glorious  years ;  the  expression  of  a  new-found 
strength  and  freedom,  which  vented  itself  at  home 
in  drama  and  in  song;  abroad  in  mighty  con- 
quests, achieved  with  the  laughing  recklessness  of 
boys  at  play. 

So  first,  preceded  by  the  waits,  came  along  the 
bridge  toward  the  town-hall  a  device  prepared  by 
the  good  rector,  who,  standing  by,  acted  as  show- 
man, and  explained  anxiously  to  the  bystanders 
the  import  of  a  certain  "  allegory"  wherein  on  a 
great  banner  was  depicted  Queen  Elizabeth  herself, 
who,  in  ample  ruff  and  farthingale,  a  Bible  in  one 
hand  and  a  sword  in  the  other,  stood  triumphant 
upon  the  necks  of  two  sufficiently  abject  person- 
ages, whose  triple  tiara  and  imperial  crown  pro- 
claimed them  the  Pope  and  the  King  of  Spain; 
while  a  label,  issuing  from  her  royal  mouth,  in- 
formed the  world  that  — 

"  By  land  and  sea  a  virgin  queen  I  reign, 
And  spurn  to  dust  both  Antichrist  and  Spain." 

Which,  having  been  received  with  due  applause,  a 
well-bedizened  lad,  having  in  his  cap  as  a  posy 
"  Loyalty,"  stepped  forward,  and  delivered  himself 
of  the  following  verses :  — 

"Oh,  great  Eliza!  oh,  world-famous  crew! 
Which  shall  I  hail  more  blest,  your  queen  or  you  ? 
While  without  other  either  falls  to  wrack, 
And  light  must  eyes,  or  eyes  their  light  must  lack. 
She  without  you,  a  diamond  sunk  in  mine, 
Its  worth  unprized,  to  self  alone  must  shine ; 
You  without  her,  like  hands  bereft  of  head, 
Like  Ajax  rage,  by  blindfold  lust  misled. 
She  light,  you  eyes;  she  head,  and  you  the  hands, 


54  Westward  Ho  ! 

In  fair  proportion  knit  by  heavenly  bands; 
Servants  in  queen,  and  queen  in  servants  blest ; 
Your  only  glory,  how  to  serve  her  best ; 
And  hers  how  best  the  adventurous  might  to  guide, 
Which  knows  no  check  of  focmen,  wind,  or  tide, 
So  fair  Eliza's  spotless  fame  may  fly 
Triumphant  round  the  globe,  and  shake  th'  astounded  sky ! n 

With  which  sufficiently  bad  verses  Loyalty  passed 
on,  while  my  Lady  Bath  hinted  to  Sir  Richard, 
not  without  reason,  that  the  poet,  in  trying  to 
exalt  both  parties,  had  very  sufficiently  snubbed 
both,  and  intimated  that  it  was  "  hardly  safe  for 
country  wits  to  attempt  that  euphuistic,  antitheti- 
cal, and  delicately  conceited  vein,  whose  proper 
fountain  was  in  Whitehall."  However,  on  went 
Loyalty,  very  well  pleased  with  himself,  and  next, 
amid  much  cheering,  two  great  tinsel  fish,  a  salmon 
and  a  trout,  symbolical  of  the  wealth  of  Torridge, 
waddled  along,  by  means  of  two  human  legs  and 
a  staff  apiece,  which  protruded  from  the  fishes' 
stomachs.  They  drew  (or  seemed  to  draw,  for 
half  the  'prentices  in  the  town  were  shoving  it 
behind,  and  cheering  on  the  panting  monarchs  of 
the  flood)  a  car  wherein  sate,  amid  reeds  and 
river-flags,  three  or  four  pretty  girls  in  robes  of 
gray-blue  spangled  with  gold,  their  heads  wreathed 
one  with  a  crown  of  the  sweet  bog-myrtle,  another 
with  hops  and  white  convolvulus,  the  third  with 
pale  heather  and  golden  fern.  They  stopped  op- 
posite Amyas;  and  she  of  the  myrtle  wreath, 
rising  and  bowing  to  him  and  the  company,  began 
with  a  pretty  blush  to  say  her  say :  — 

"  Hither  from  my  moorland  home, 
Nymph  of  Torridge,  proud  I  come; 
Leaving  fen  and  furzy  brake, 


Amyas  Home  the  First  Time         55 

Haunt  of  eft  and  spotted  snake, 

Where  to  fill  mine  urns  I  use, 

Daily  with  Atlantic  dews ; 

While  beside  the  reedy  flood 

Wild  duck  leads  her  paddling  brood. 

For  this  morn,  as  Phoebus  gay 

Chased  through  heaven  the  night  mist  gray? 

Close  beside  me,  prankt  in  pride, 

Sister  Tamar  rose,  and  cried, 

«  Sluggard,  up !  'T  is  holiday, 

In  the  lowlands  far  away. 

Hark !  how  jocund  Plymouth  bells, 

Wandering  up  through  mazy  dells, 

Call  me  down,  with  smiles  to  hail, 

My  daring  Drake's  returning  sail.' 

« Thine  alone  ? '  I  answer'd.     'Nay; 

Mine  as  well  the  joy  to-day. 

Heroes  train'd  on  Northern  wave, 

To  that  Argo  new  I  gave ; 

Lent  to  thee,  they  roam'd  the  main; 

Give  me,  nymph,  my  sons  again.' 

•Go,  they  wait  Thee,'  Tamar  cried, 

Southward  bounding  from  my  side. 

Glad  I  rose,  and  at  my  call, 

Came  my  Naiads,  one  and  all. 

Nursling  of  the  mountain  sky, 

Leaving  Dian's  choir  on  high, 

Down  her  cataracts  laughing  loud, 

Ockment  leapt  from  crag  and  cloud, 

Leading  many  a  nymph,  who  dwells 

Where  wild  deer  drink  in  ferny  dells ; 

While  the  Oreads  as  they  past 

Peep'd  from  Druid  Tors  aghast. 

By  alder  copses  sliding  slow, 

Knee-deep  in  flowers  came  gentler  Yeo 

And  paused  awhile  her  locks  to  twine 

With  musky  hops  and  white  woodbine, 

Then  joined  the  silver-footed  band, 

Which  circled  down  my  golden  sand, 

By  dappled  park,  and  harbor  shady, 

Haunt  of  love-lorn  knight  and  lady, 

My  thrice-renowned  sons  to  greet, 


56  Westward  Ho ! 

With  rustic  song  and  pageant  meet. 
For  joy !  the  girdled  robe  around 
Eliza's  name  henceforth  shall  sound, 
Whose  venturous  fleets  to  conquest  start, 
Where  ended  once  the  seaman's  chart, 
While  circling  Sol  his  steps  shall  count 
Henceforth  from  Thule's  western  mount, 
And  lead  new  rulers  round  the  seas 
From  furthest  Cassiterides. 
For  found  is  now  the  golden  tree, 
Solv'd  th'  Atlantic  mystery, 
Pluck'd  the  dragon-guarded  fruit ; 
While  around  the  charmed  root, 
Wailing  loud,  the  Hesperids 
Watch  their  warder's  drooping  lids. 
Low  he  lies  with  grisly  wound, 
While  the  sorceress  triple-crown'd 
In  her  scarlet  robe  doth  shield  him, 
Till  her  cunning  spells  have  heal'd  him. 
Ye,  meanwhile,  around  the  earth 
Bear  the  prize  of  manful  worth. 
Yet  a  nobler  meed  than  gold 
Waits  for  Albion's  children  bold; 
Great  Eliza's  virgin  hand 
Welcomes  you  to  Fairy-land, 
While  your  native  Naiads  bring 
Native  wreaths  as  offering. 
Simple  though  their  show  may  be, 
Britain's  worship  in  them  see. 
'T  is  not  price,  nor  outward  fairness, 
Gives  the  victor's  palm  its  rareness; 
Simplest  tokens  can  impart 
Noble  throb  to  noble  heart : 
Graecia,  prize  thy  parsley  crown, 
Boast  thy  laurel,  Caesar's  town; 
Moorland  myrtle  still  shall  be 
Badge  of  Devon's  Chivalry  !  " 

And  so  ending,  she  took  the  wreath  of  fragrant 
gale  from  her  own  head,  and  stooping  from  the 
car,  placed  it  on  the  head  of  Amyas  Leigh,  who 
made  answer  — 


Amyas  Home  the  First  Time       57 

"There  is  no  place  like  home,  my  fair  mistress  ?- 
and  no  scent  to  my  taste  like  this  old  home-scent 
in  all  the  spice-islands  that  I  ever  sailed  by!" 

"Her  song  was  not  so  bad,"  said  Sir  Richard 
to  Lady  Bath  —  "  but  how  came  she  to  hear 
Plymouth  bells  at  Tamar-head,  full  fifty  miles 
away?  That 's  too  much  of  a  poet's  license,  is  it 
not?" 

"The  river-nymphs,  as  daughters  of  Oceanus, 
and  thus  of  immortal  parentage,  are  bound  to 
possess  organs  of  more  than  mortal  keenness; 
but,  as  you  say,  the  song  was  not  so  bad  —  eru- 
dite, as  well  as  prettily  conceived  —  and,  saving 
for  a  certain  rustical  simplicity  and  monosyllabic 
baldness,  smacks  rather  of  the  forests  of  Castaly 
than  those  of  Torridge." 

So  spake  my  Lady  Bath;  whom  Sir  Richard 
wisely  answered  not;  for  she  was  a  terribly 
learned  member  of  the  college  of  critics,  and 
disputed  even  with  Sidney's  sister  the  chieftaincy 
of  the  Euphuists;  so  Sir  Richard  answered  not, 
but  answer  was  made  for  him. 

"  Since  the  whole  choir  of  Muses,  madam,  have 
migrated  to  the  Court  of  Whitehall,  no  wonder 
if  some  dews  of  Parnassus  should  fertilize  at  times 
even  our  Devon  moors." 

The  speaker  was  a  tall  and  slim  young  man, 
some  five-and-twenty  years  old,  of  so  rare  and 
delicate  a  beauty,  that  it  seemed  that  some  Greek 
statue,  or  rather  one  of  those  pensive  and  pious 
knights  whom  the  old  German  artists  took  delight 
to  paint,  had  condescended  to  tread  awhile  this 
work-day  earth  in  living  flesh  and  blood  The 
forehead  was  very  lofty  and  smooth,  the  eye- 
brows thin  and  greatly  arched  (the  enviout  gal- 


58  Westward  Ho  ! 

lants  whispered  that  something  at  least  of  their 
curve  was  due  to  art,  as  was  also  the  exceeding 
smoothness  of  those  delicate  cheeks).  The  face 
was  somewhat  long  and  thin;  the  nose  aquiline; 
and  the  languid  mouth  showed,  perhaps,  too 
much  of  the  ivory  upper  teeth;  but  the  most 
striking  point  of  the  speaker's  appearance  was 
the  extraordinary  brilliancy  of  his  complexion, 
which  shamed  with  its  whiteness  that  of  all  fair 
ladies  round,  save  where  open  on  each  cheek  a 
bright  red  spot  gave  warning,  as  did  the  long 
thin  neck  and  the  taper  hands,  of  sad  possibili- 
ties, perhaps  not  far  off;  possibilities  which  all 
saw  with  an  inward  sigh,  except  she  whose  doting 
glances,  as  well  as  her  resemblance  to  the  fair 
youth,  proclaimed  her  at  once  his  mother,  Mrs. 
Leigh  herself. 

Master  Frank,  for  he  it  was,  was  dressed  in 
the  very  extravagance  of  the  fashion,  —  not  so 
much  from  vanity,  as  from  that  delicate  instinct 
of  self-respect  which  would  keep  some  men  spruce 
and  spotless  from  one  year's  end  to  another  upon 
a  desert  island;  "for,"  as  Frank  used  to  say  in 
his  sententious  way,  "  Mr.  Frank  Leigh  at  least 
beholds  me,  though  none  else  be  by;  and  why 
should  I  be  more  discourteous  to  him  than  I 
permit  others  to  be?  Be  sure  that  he  who  is  a 
Grobian  in  his  own  company,  will,  sooner  or 
later,  become  a  Grobian  in  that  of  his  friends." 

So  Mr.  Frank  was  arrayed  spotlessly;  but  after 
the  latest  fashion  of  Milan,  not  in  trunk  hose  and 
slashed  sleeves,  nor  in  "  French  standing  collar, 
treble  quadruple  daedal ian  ruff,  or  stiff-necked 
rabato,  that  had  more  arches  for  pride,  propped 
up  with  wire  and  timber,  than  five  London 


Amyas  Home  the  First  Time        59 

Bridges;"  but  in  a  close-fitting  and  perfectly 
plain  suit  of  dove-color,  which  set  off  cunningly 
the  delicate  proportions  of  his  figure,  and  the 
delicate  hue  of  his  complexion,  which  was  shaded 
from  the  sun  by  a  broad  dove-colored  Spanish 
hat,  with  feather  to  match,  looped  up  over  the 
right  ear  with  a  pearl  brooch,  and  therein  a 
crowned  E,  supposed  by  the  damsels  of  Bideford 
to  stand  for  Elizabeth,  which  was  whispered  to 
be  the  gift  of  some  most  illustrious  hand.  This 
same  looping  up  was  not  without  good  reason  and 
purpose  prepense ;  thereby  all  the  world  had  full 
view  of  a  beautiful  little  ear,  which  looked  as  if 
it  had  been  cut  of  cameo,  and  made,  as  my  Lady 
Rich  once  told  him,  "to  hearken  only  to  the 
music  of  the  spheres,  or  to  the  chants  of  cheru- 
bim." Behind  the  said  ear  was  stuck  a  fresh 
rose;  and  the  golden  hair  was  all  drawn  smoothly 
back  and  round  to  the  left  temple,  whence,  tied 
with  a  pink  ribbon  in  a  great  true  lover's  knot,  a 
mighty  love-lock,  "curled  as  it  had  been  laid  in 
press,"  rolled  down  low  upon  his  bosom.  Oh, 
Frank !  Frank !  have  you  come  out  on  purpose  to 
break  the  hearts  of  all  Bideford  burghers'  daugh- 
ters ?  And  if  so,  did  you  expect  to  further  that 
triumph  by  dyeing  that  pretty  little  pointed  beard 
(with  shame  I  report  it)  of  a  bright  vermilion? 
But  we  know  you  Detter,  Frank,  and  so  does  your 
mother;  and  you  are  but  a  masquerading  angel 
after  all,  in  spite  of  your  knots  and  your  perfumes, 
and  the  gold  chain  round  your  neck  which  a 
German  princess  gave  you;  and  the  emerald  ring 
on  your  right  fore-finger  which  Hatton  gave  you ; 
and  the  pair  of  perfumed  gloves  in  your  left  which 
Sidney's  sister  gave  you;  and  the  silver-hilted 


60  Westward  Ho  ! 

Toledo  which  an  Italian  marquis  gave  you  on  a 
certain  occasion  of  which  you  never  choose  to 
talk,  like  a  prudent  and  modest  gentleman  as  you 
are;  but  of  which  the  gossips  talk,  of  course,  all 
the  more,  and  whisper  that  you  saved  his  life 
from  bravoes  —  a  dozen,  at  the  least ;  and  had  that 
sword  for  your  reward,  and  might  have  had  his 
beautiful  sister's  hand  beside,  and  I  know  not 
what  else ;  but  that  you  had  so  many  lady-loves 
already  that  you  were  loath  to  burden  yourself 
with  a  fresh  one.  That,  at  least,  we  know  to  be 
a  lie,  fair  Frank;  for  your  heart  is  as  pure  this 
day  as  when  you  knelt  in  your  little  crib  at 
Burrough,  and  said  — 

"Four  corners  to  my  bed  . 
Four  angels  round  my  head  ; 
Matthew,  Mark,  Luke,  and  John, 
Bless  the  bed  that  I  lie  on." 

And  who  could  doubt  it  (if  being  pure  them- 
selves, they  have  instinctive  sympathy  with  what 
is  pure),  who  ever  looked  into  those  great  deep 
blue  eyes  of  yours,  "  the  black  fringed  curtains  of 
whose  azure  lids,"  usually  down-dropt  as  if  in 
deepest  thought,  you  raise  slowly,  almost  wonder- 
ingly  each  time  you  speak,  as  if  awakening  from 
some  fair  dream  whose  home  is  rather  in  your 
platonical  "  eternal  world  of  supra-sensible  forms," 
than  on  that  work-day  earth  wherein  you  never- 
theless acquit  yourself  so  well  ?  There  —  I  must 
stop  describing  you,  or  I  shall  catch  the  infec- 
tion of  your  own  euphuism,  and  talk  of  you  as 
you  would  have  talked  of  Sidney  or  of  Spenser, 
or  of  that  Swan  of  Avon,  whose  song  had  just 
begun  when  yours but  I  will  not  anticipate; 


Amyas  Home  the  First  Time       61 

my  Lady  Bath  is  waiting  to  give  you  her 
rejoinder. 

"Ah,  my  silver-tongued  scholar!  and  are  you, 
then,  the  poet  ?  or  have  you  been  drawing  on  the 
inexhaustible  bank  of  your  friend  Raleigh,  or  my 
cousin  Sidney?  or  has  our  new  Cygnet  Immerito 
lent  you  a  few  unpublished  leaves  from  some 
fresh  Shepherd's  Calendar?" 

"Had  either,  madam,  of  that  cynosural  triad 
been  within  call  of  my  most  humble  importuni- 
ties, your  ears  had  been  delectate  with  far  nobler 
melody. " 

"  But  not  our  eyes  with  fairer  faces,  eh  ?  Well, 
you  have  chosen  your  nymphs,  and  had  good 
store  from  whence  to  pick,  I  doubt  not.  Few 
young  Dulcineas  round  but  must  have  been  glad 
to  take  service  under  so  renowned  a  captain  ?  " 

"The  only  difficulty,  gracious  countess,  has 
been  to  know  where  to  fix  the  wandering  choice 
of  my  bewildered  eyes,  where  all  alike  are  fair, 
and  all  alike  facund." 

"We  understand,"  said  she,  smiling;  — 

"  Dan  Cupid,  choosing  'midst  his  mother's  graces, 
Himself  more  fair,  made  scorn  of  fairest  faces." 

The  young  scholar  capped  her  distich  forthwith, 
and  bowing  to  her  with  a  meaning  look, 

"'Then,  Goddess,  turn,'  he  cried,  'and  veil  thy  light; 
Blinded  by  thine,  what  eyes  can  choose  aright  ? '  " 

"Go,  saucy  sir,"  said  my  lady,  in  high  glee: 
"the  pageant  stays  your  supreme  pleasure." 

And  away  went  Mr.  Frank  as  master  of  the 
revels,  to  bring  up  the  'prentices'  pageant;  while, 
for  his  sake,  the  nymph  of  Torridge  was  forgotten 


62  Westward  Ho ! 

for  awhile  by  all  young  dames,  and  most  young 
gentlemen:  and  his  mother  heaved  a  deep  sigh, 
which  Lady  Bath  overhearing  — 

"What?  in  the  dumps,  good  madam,  while  all 
are  rejoicing  in  your  joy?  Are  you  afraid  that 
we  court-dames  shall  turn  your  Adonis's  brain  for 
him?" 

"I  do,  indeed,  fear  lest  your  condescension 
should  make  him  forget  that  he  is  only  a  poor 
squire's  orphan." 

"  I  will  warrant  him  never  to  forget  aught  that 
he  should  recollect,"  said  my  Lady  Bath. 

And  she  spoke  truly.  But  soon  Frank's  silver 
voice  was  heard  calling  out  — 

"  Room  there,  good  people,  for  the  gallant 
'prentice  lads ! " 

And  on  they  came,  headed  by  a  giant  of  buck- 
ram and  pasteboard  armor,  forth  of  whose  stom- 
ach looked,  like  a  clock-face  in  a  steeple,  a 
human  visage,  to  be  greeted,  as  was  the  fashion 
then,  by  a  volley  of  quips  and  puns  from  high 
and  low. 

Young  Mr.  William  Gary,  of  Clovelly,  who  was 
the  wit  of  those  parts,  opened  the  fire  by  asking 
him  whether  he  were  Goliath,  Gogmagog,  or 
Grantorto  in  the  romance;  for  giants'  names 
always  began  with  a  G.  To  which  the  giant's 
stomach  answered  pretty  surlily — - 

"Mine  don't;  I  begin  with  an  O." 

"Then  thou  criest  out  before  thou  art  hurt,  O 
cowardly  giant ! " 

"Let  me  out,  lads,"  quoth  the  irascible  visage, 
struggling  in  his  buckram  prison,  "and  I  soon 
show  him  whether  I  be  a  coward." 

"Nay,    if  thou   gettest    out   of    thyself,    thou 


Amyas  Home  the  First  Time       63 

wouldst  be  beside  thyself,  and  so  wert  but  a  mad 
giant." 

"And  that  were  pity,"  said  Lady  Bath;  "for 
by  the  romances,  giants  have  never  overmuch  wit 
to  spare." 

"Mercy,  dear  lady!"  said  Frank,  "and  let  the 
giant  begin  with  an  O." 

"  A " 

"  A  false  start,  giant !  you  were  to  begin  with 
an  O." 

"I'll  make  you  end  with  an  O,  Mr.  William 
Gary!"  roared  the  testy  tower  of  buckram. 

"  And  so  I  do,  for  I  end  with  '  Fico ! '  " 

"Be  mollified,  sweet  giant,"  said  Frank,  "and 
spare  the  rash  youth  of  yon  foolish  knight. 
Shall  elephants  catch  flies,  or  Hurlo-Thrumbo 
stain  his  club  with  brains  of  Dagonet  the  jester? 
Be  mollified;  leave  thy  caverned  grumblings,  like 
Etna  when  its  windy  wrath  is  past,  and  discourse 
eloquence  from  thy  central  omphalos,  like  Python- 
ess ventriloquizing." 

"If  you   do   begin   laughing  at   me  too,   Mr. 

Leigh "  said  the  giant's   clock-face,   in  a 

piteous  tone. 

"  I  laugh  not.  Art  thou  not  Ordulf  the  earl, 
and  I  thy  humblest  squire?  Speak  up,  my  lord; 
your  cousin,  my  Lady  Bath,  commands  you. " 

And  at  last  the  giant  began  :  — 

"A  giant  I,  Earl  Ordulf  men  me  call,  — 
'Gainst  Paynim  foes  Devonia's  champion  tall; 
In  single  fight  six  thousand  Turks  I  slew; 
Pull'd  off  a  lion's  head,  and  ate  it  too : 
With  one  shrewd  blow,  to  let  St.  Edward  in, 
I  smote  the  gates  of  Exeter  in  twain ; 
Till  aged  grown,  by  angels  warn'd  in  dream, 
I  built  an  abbey  fair  by  Tavy  stream. 


64  Westward  Ho  I 

But  treacherous  time  hath  tripped  my  glories  up, 
The  stanch  old  hound  must  yield  to  stancher  pup ; 
Here  's  one  so  tall  as  I,  and  twice  so  bold, 
Where  I  took  only  cuffs,  takes  good  red  gold. 
From  pole  to  pole  resound  his  wondrous  works, 
Who  slew  more  Spaniards  than  I  e'er  slew  Turks ; 
I  strode  across  the  Tavy  stream :  but  he 
Strode  round  the  world  and  back  ;  and  here  'a  be ! " 

"Oh,  bathos!"  said  Lady  Bath,  while  the 
'prentices  shouted  applause.  "Is  this  hedge- 
bantling  to  be  fathered  on  you,  Mr.  Frank?  " 

"It  is  necessary,  by  all  laws  of  the  drama, 
madam,"  said  Frank,  with  a  sly  smile,  "that  the 
speech  and  the  speaker  shall  fit  each  other.  Pass 
on,  Earl  Ordulf ;  a  more  learned  worthy  waits." 

Whereon,  up  came  a  fresh  member  of  the  pro- 
cession; namely,  no  less  a  person  than  Vindex 
Brimblecombe,  the  ancient  schoolmaster,  with 
five-and-forty  boys  at  his  heels,  who  halting, 
pulled  out  his  spectacles,  and  thus  signified  his 
forgiveness  of  his  whilom  broken  head  :  — 

"  That  the  world  should  have  been  circumnavi- 
gated, ladies  and  gentles,  were  matter  enough  of 
jubilation  to  the  student  of  Herodotus  and  Plato, 

Plinius   and ahem !   much   more  when   the 

circumnavigators  are  Britons;  more,  again,  when 
Damnonians. " 

"Don't  swear,  master,"  said  young  Will  Gary. 

"Gulielme  Gary,  Gulielme  Gary,  hast  thou 
forgotten  thy " 

"Whippings?  Never,  old  lad!  Go  on;  but 
let  not  the  license  of  the  scholar  overtop  the 
modesty  of  the  Christian." 

"More  again,  as  I  said,  when,  incola,  inhabi- 
tants of  Devon ;  but,  most  of  all,  men  of  Bideford 
school.  Oh  renowned  school !  Oh  schoolboys  en- 


Amyas  Home  the  First  Time       65 

nobled  by  fellowship  with  him  !  Oh  most  happy 
pedagogue,  to  whom  it  has  befallen  to  have  chas- 
tised a  circumnavigator,  and,  like  another  Chiron, 
trained  another  Hercules :  yet  more  than  Hercules, 
for  he  placed  his  pillars  on  the  ocean  shore,  and 
then  returned;  but  my  scholar's  voyage " 

"  Hark  how  the  old  fox  is  praising  himself  all 
along  on  the  sly,"  said  Gary. 

"Mr.  William,  Mr.  William,  peace; — silentium, 
ray  graceless  pupil.  Urge  the  foaming  steed, 
and  strike  terror  into  the  rapid  stag,  but  meddle 
not  with  matters  too  high  for  thee. " 

"He  has  given  you  the  dor  now,  sir,"  said 
Lady  Bath;  "let  the  old  man  say  his  say." 

"I  bring,  therefore,  as  my  small  contribution 
to  this  day's  feast;  first  a  Latin  epigram,  as 
thus " 

"Latin?  Let  us  hear  it  forthwith,"  cried  my 
lady. 

And  the  old  pedant  mouthed  out  — 

"  Torriguiam  Tamaris  ne  spernat ;  Leighius  addet 
Mox  terras  terns,  inclyte  Drake,  tuis." 

"Neat,  i'  faith,  la!"  Whereon  all  the  rest, 
as  in  duty  bound,  approved  also. 

"This  for  the  erudite:  for  vulgar  ears  the 
vernacular  is  more  consonant,  sympathetic,  in- 
structive; as  thus: — 

"  Famed  Argo  ship,  that  noble  chip,  by  doughty  Jason's 

steering, 
Brought  back  to  Greece  the  golden  fleece,  from  Colchis 

home  careering; 
But  now  her  fame  is  put  to  shame,  while  new  Devonian 

Argo, 

Round  earth  doth  run  in  wake  of  sun,  and  brings  a 
wealthier  cargo." 

Vol.  8-4 


66  Westward  Ho! 

"Runs  with  a  right  fa-lal-la,"  observed  Gary; 
"  and  would  go  nobly  to  a  fiddle  and  a  big  drum. " 

"  Ye  Spaniards,  quake !  our  doughty  Drake  a  royal  swan  is 

tested, 
On  wing  and  oar,  from  shore  to  shore,  the  raging  main 

who  breasted :  — 
But  never  needs  to  chant  his  deeds,  like  swan  that  lies 

a-dying, 
So  far  his  name,  by  trump  of  fame,  around  the  sphere  is 

flying." 

"Hillo  ho!  schoolmaster!"  shouted  a  voice 
from  behind ;  "  move  on,  and  make  way  for  Father 
Neptune!"  Whereon  a  whole  storm  of  raillery 
fell  upon  the  hapless  pedagogue. 

"We  waited  for  the  parson's  alligator,  but  we 
wain't  for  yourn." 

"Allegory!  my  children,  allegory!"  shrieked 
the  man  of  letters. 

"What  do  ye  call  he  an  alligator  for?  He  is 
but  a  poor  little  starved  evat ! " 

"Out  of  the  road,  old  Custis!  March  on, 
Don  Palmado!" 

These  allusions  to  the  usual  instrument  of 
torture  in  West-country  schools  made  the  old 
gentleman  wince;  especially  when  they  were 
followed  home  by  — 

"Who  stole  Admiral  Grenville's  brooms,  be- 
cause birch  rods  were  dear?" 

But  proudly  he  shook  his  bald  head,  as  a  bull 
shakes  off  the  flies,  and  returned  to  the  charge 
once  more. 

"Great  Alexander,  famed  commander,  wept  and  made  a 

pother, 
At  conquering  only  half  the  world,  but  Drake  had  con- 

quer'd  t'  other  ; 
And  Hercules  to  brink  of  seas  ! " 


Amyas  Home  the  First  Time       67 

"Oh !" 

And  clapping  both  hands  to  the  back  of  his 
neck,  the  schoolmaster  began  dancing  frantically 
about,  while  his  boys  broke  out  tittering,  "  O ! 
the  ochidore !  look  to  the  blue  ochidore !  Who  've 
put  ochidore  to  maister's  poll ! " 

It  was  too  true :  neatly  inserted,  as  he  stooped 
forward,  between  his  neck  and  his  collar,  was  a 
large  live  shore-crab,  holding  on  tight  with  both 
hands. 

"Gentles!  good  Christians  1  save  me!  I  am 
mare-rode!  Incubo,  vel  ab  incubo,  opprimor! 
Satanas  has  me  by  the  poll !  Help !  he  tears  my 
jugular;  he  wrings  my  neck,  as  he  does  to  Dr. 
Faustus  in  the  play.  Confiteor /  —  I  confess! 
Satan,  I  defy  thee!  Good  people,  I  confess! 
HturavitfiAatl  The  truth  will  out.  Mr.  Francis 
Leigh  wrote  the  epigram ! "  And  diving  through 
the  crowd,  the  pedagogue  vanished  howling,  while 
Father  Neptune,  crowned  with  sea-weeds,  a  trident 
in  one  hand,  and  a  live  dog-fish  in  the  other,  swag- 
gered up  the  street  surrounded  by  a  tall  body- 
guard of  mariners,  and  followed  by  a  great  banner, 
on  which  was  depicted  a  globe,  with  Drake's  ship 
sailing  thereon  upside  down,  and  overwritten  — 

"  See  every  man  the  Pelican, 

Which  round  the  world  did  go, 
While  her  stern-post  was  uppermost, 

And  topmasts  down  below. 
And  by  the  way  she  lost  a  day, 

Out  of  her  log  was  stole : 
But  Neptune  kind,  with  favoring  wind, 

Hath  brought  her  safe  and  whole." 

"Now,  lads!"  cried  Neptune;  "hand  me  my 
parable  that's  writ  for  me,  and  here  goeth!" 


68  Westward  Ho  ! 

And  at  the  top  of  his  bull-voice,  he  began  roar* 
ing  — 

M.I  am  King  Neptune  bold, 
The  ruler  of  the  seas ; 

I  don't  understand  much  singing  upon  land, 
But  I  hope  what  I  say  will  please. 

M  Here  be  five  Bideford  men, 

Which  have  sail'd  the  world  around, 
And  I  watch 'd  them  well,  as  they  all  can  tell, 
And  brought  them  home  safe  and  sound. 

14  For  it  is  the  men  of  Devon. 

To  see  them  I  take  delight, 
Both  to  tack  and  to  hull,  and  to  heave  and  to  pull, 

And  to  prove  themselves  in  fight. 
r 

]  **  Where  be  those  Spaniards  proud, 
That  make  their  valiant  boasts ; 
And  think  for  to  keep  the  poor  Indians  for  their  sheep, 

And  to  farm  my  golden  coasts  ? 
j 
M  'T  was  the  devil  and  the  Pope  gave  them 

My  kingdom  for  their  own : 

But  my  nephew  Francis  Drake,  he  caused  them  to  quake, 
And  he  pick'd  them  to  the  bone. 

"  For  the  sea  my  realm  it  is, 

As  good  Queen  Bess's  is  the  land ; 
So  freely  come  again,  all  merry  Devon  men, 
And  there's  old  Neptune's  hand." 

"Holla,  boys!  holla!  Blow  up,  Triton,  and 
bring  forward  the  freedom  of  the  seas." 

Triton,  roaring  through  a  conch,  brought  for- 
ward a  cockle-shell  full  of  salt-water,  and  delivered 
it  solemnly  to  Amyas,  who,  of  course,  put  a  noble 
into  it,  and  returned  it  after  Grenville  had  done 
the  same. 

"Holla,  Dick  Admiral!"  cried  Neptune,  who 


Amyas  Home  the  First  Time       69 

was  pretty  far  gone  in  liquor;  "we  knew  thou 
hadst  a  right  English  heart  in  thee,  for  all  thou 
standest  there  as  taut  as  a  Don  who  has  swallowed 
his  rapier." 

"Grammercy,  stop  thy  bellowing,  fellow,  and 
on ;  for  thou  smellest  vilely  of  fish. " 

"Everything  smells  sweet  in  its  right  place. 
I  'm  going  home." 

"  I  thought  thou  wert  there  all  along,  being 
already  half-seas  over, "  said  Gary. 

"Ay,  right  Upsee-Dutch;  and  that 's  more  than 
thou  ever  wilt  be,  thou  'long-shore  stay-at-home. 
Why  wast  making  sheep's  eyes  at  Mistress  Sal- 
terne  here,  while  my  pretty  little  chuck  of  Bur- 
rough  there  was  playing  at  shove-groat  with 
Spanish  doubloons  ? " 

"  Go  to  the  devil,  sirrah  ! "  said  Gary.  Neptune 
had  touched  on  a  sore  subject ;  and  more  cheeks 
than  Amyas  Leigh's  reddened  at  the  hint. 

"  Amen,  if  Heaven  so  please ! "  and  on  rolled 
the  monarch  of  the  seas;  and  so  the  pageant 
ended. 

The  moment  Amyas  had  an  opportunity,  he 
asked  his  brother  Frank,  somewhat  peevishly, 
where  Rose  Salterne  was. 

"What!  the  mayor's  daughter?  With  her 
uncle  by  Kilkhampton,  I  believe." 

Now  cunning  Master  Frank,  whose  daily  wish 
was  to  "seek  peace  and  ensue  it,"  told  Amyas 
this,  because  he  must  needs  speak  the  truth :  but 
he  was  purposed  at  the  same  time  to  speak  as 
little  truth  as  he  could,  for  fear  of  accidents; 
and,  therefore,  omitted  to  tell  his  brother  how 
that  he,  two  days  before,  had  entreated  Rose 
Salterne  herself  to  appear  as  the  nymph  of  Tor- 


70  Westward  Ho  ! 

ridge;  which  honor  she,  who  had  no  objection 
either  to  exhibit  her  pretty  face,  to  recite  pretty 
poetry,  or  to  be  trained  thereto  by  the  cynosure 
of  North  Devon,  would  have  assented  willingly, 
but  that  her  father  stopped  the  pretty  project  by 
a  peremptory  countermove,  and  packed  her  off, 
in  spite  of  her  tears,  to  the  said  uncle  on  the 
Atlantic  cliffs;  after  which  he  went  up  to  Bur- 
rough,  and  laughed  over  the  whole  matter  with 
Mrs.  Leigh. 

"I  am  but  a  burgher,  Mrs.  Leigh,  and  you  a 
lady  of  blood;  but  I  am  too  proud  to  let  any 
man  say  that  Simon  Salterne  threw  his  daughter 
at  your  son's  head;  —  no;  not  if  you  were  an 
empress ! " 

"And  to  speak  truth,  Mr.  Salterne,  there  are 
young  gallants  enough  in  the  country  quarrelling 
about  her  pretty  face  every  day,  without  making 
her  a  tourney-queen  to  tilt  about. " 

Which  was  very  true;  for  during  the  three 
years  of  Amyas's  absence,  Rose  Salterne  had 
grown  into  so  beautiful  a  girl  of  eighteen,  that 
half  North  Devon  was  mad  about  the  "  Rose  of 
Torridge,"  as  she  was  called;  and  there  was  not 
a  young  gallant  for  ten  miles  round  (not  to  speak 
of  her  father's  clerks  and  'prentices,  who  moped 
about  after  her  like  so  many  Malvolios,  and 
treasured  up  the  very  parings  of  her  nails)  who 
would  not  have  gone  to  Jerusalem  to  win  her. 
So  that  all  along  the  vales  of  Torridge  and  of 
Taw,  and  even  away  to  Clovelly  (for  young  Mr. 
Gary  was  one  of  the  sick),  not  a  gay  bachelor  but 
was  frowning  on  his  fellows,  and  vying  with 
them  in  the  fashion  of  his  clothes,  the  set  of  his 
ruffs,  the  harness  of  his  horse,  the  carriage  of  his 


Amyas  Home  the  First  Time       71 

hawks,  the  pattern  of  his  sword-hilt;  and  those 
were  golden  days  for  all  tailors  and  armorers, 
from  Exmoor  to  Okehampton  town.  But  of  all 
those  foolish  young  lads  not  one  would  speak  to 
the  other,  either  out  hunting,  or  at  the  archery 
butts,  or  in  the  tilt-yard;  and  my  Lady  Bath 
(who  confessed  that  there  was  no  use  in  bringing 
out  her  daughters  where  Rose  Salterne  was  in  the 
way)  prophesied  in  her  classical  fashion  that 
Rose's  wedding  bid  fair  to  be  a  very  bridal  of 
Atalanta,  and  feast  of  the  Lapithae ;  and  poor  Mr. 
Will  Gary  (who  always  blurted  out  the  truth), 
when  old  Salterne  once  asked  him  angrily  in 
Bideford  Market,  "What  a  plague  business  had 
he  making  sheep's  eyes  at  his  daughter?"  broke 
out  before  all  bystanders,  "And  what  a  plague 
business  had  you,  old  boy,  to  throw  such  an  apple 
of  discord  into  our  merry  meetings  hereabouts? 
If  you  choose  to  have  such  a  daughter,  you  must 
take  the  consequences,  and  be  hanged  to  you." 
To  which  Mr.  Salterne  answered  with  some  truth, 
"That  she  was  none  of  his  choosing,  nor  of  Mr. 
Gary's  neither."  And  so  the  dor  being  given, 
the  belligerents  parted  laughing,  but  the  war 
remained  in  statu  quo ;  and  not  a  week  passed 
but,  by  mysterious  hands,  some  nosegay,  or 
languishing  sonnet,  was  conveyed  into  The  Rose's 
chamber,  all  which  she  stowed  away,  with  the 
simplicity  of  a  country  girl,  finding  it  mighty 
pleasant;  and  took  all  compliments  quietly 
enough,  probably  because,  on  the  authority  of 
her  mirror,  she  considered  them  no  more  than 
her  due. 

And  now,  to  add  to  the  general  confusion,  home 
was  come  young  Amyas  Leigh,  more  desperately 


72  Westward  Ho ! 

in  love  with  her  than  ever.  For,  as  is  the  way 
with  sailors  (who  after  all  are  the  truest  lovers, 
as  they  are  the  finest  fellows,  God  bless  them, 
upon  earth),  his  lonely  ship-watches  had  been 
spent  in  imprinting  on  his  imagination,  month 
after  month,  year  after  year,  every  feature  and 
gesture  and  tone  of  the  fair  lass  whom  he  had 
left  behind  him ;  and  that  all  the  more  intensely, 
because,  beside  his  mother,  he  had  no  one  else 
to  think  of,  and  was  as  pure  as  the  day  he  was 
born,  having  been  trained  as  many  a  brave  young 
man  was  then,  to  look  upon  profligacy  not  as  a 
proof  of  manhood,  but  as  what  the  old  Germans, 
and  those  Gortyneans  who  crowned  the  offender 
with  wool,  knew  it  to  be,  a  cowardly  and  effemi- 
nate sin. 


CHAPTER  III 

OF  TWO  GENTLEMEN  OF  WALES,  AND  HOW  THEY 
HUNTED  WITH  THE  HOUNDS,  AND  YET  RAN 
WITH  THE  DEER 

"  I  know  that  Deformed ;  he  has  been  a  vile  thief  this  seven 
years;  he  goes  up  and  down  like  a  gentleman:  I  re- 
member his  name."  —  Much  Ado  About  Nothing. 

AMYAS   slept  that  night  a  tired  and  yet  a 
troubled  sleep ;  and  his  mother  and  Frank, 
as  they  bent  over  his  pillow,  could  see  that  his 
brain  was  busy  with  many  dreams. 

And  no  wonder ;  for  over  and  above  all  the  excite- 
ment of  the  day,  the  recollection  of  John  Oxen- 
ham  had  taken  strange  possession  of  his  mind; 
and  all  that  evening,  as  he  sat  in  the  bay-windowed 
room  where  he  had  seen  him  last,  Amyas  was 
recalling  to  himself  every  look  and  gesture  of  the 
lost  adventurer,  and  wondering  at  himself  for  so 
doing,  till  he  retired  to  sleep,  only  to  renew  the 
fancy  in  his  dreams.  At  last  he  found  himself, 
he  knew  not  how,  sailing  westward  ever,  up  the 
wake  of  the  setting  sun,  in  chase  of  a  tiny  sail 
which  was  John  Oxenham's.  Upon  him  was  a 
painful  sense  that,  unless  he  came  up  with  her  in 
time,  something  fearful  would  come  to  pass;  but 
the  ship  would  not  sail.  All  around  floated  the 
sargasso  beds,  clogging  her  bows  with  their  long 
snaky  coils  of  weed;  and  still  he  tried  to  sail, 
and  tried  to  fancy  that  he  was  sailing,  till  the 


74  Westward  Ho  ! 

sun  went  down  and  all  was  utter  dark.  And  then 
the  moon  arose,  and  in  a  moment  John  Oxenham's 
ship  was  close  aboard;  her  sails  were  torn  and 
fluttering;  the  pitch  was  streaming  from  her 
sides ;  her  bulwarks  were  rotting  to  decay.  And 
what  was  that  line  of  dark  objects  dangling  along 
the  mainyard  ?  —  A  line  of  hanged  men  !  And, 
horror  of  horrors,  from  the  yard-arm  close  above 
him,  John  Oxenham's  corpse  looked  down  with 
grave-light  eyes,  and  beckoned  and  pointed,  as  if 
to  show  him  his  way,  and  strove  to  speak,  and 
could  not,  and  pointed  still,  not  forward,  but 
back  along  their  course.  And  when  Amyas 
looked  back,  behold,  behind  him  was  the  snow 
range  of  the  Andes  glittering  in  the  moon,  and 
he  knew  that  he  was  in  the  South  Seas  once 
more,  and  that  all  America  was  between  him  and 
home.  And  still  the  corpse  kept  pointing  back, 
and  back,  and  looking  at  him  with  yearning  eyes 
of  agony,  and  lips  which  longed  to  tell  some  awful 
secret;  till  he  sprang  up,  and  woke  with  a  shout 
of  terror,  and  found  himself  lying  in  the  little 
coved  chamber  in  dear  old  Burrough,  with  the 
gray  autumn  morning  already  stealing  in. 

Feverish  and  excited,  he  tried  in  vain  to  sleep 
again ;  and  after  an  hour's  tossing,  rose  and  dressed, 
and  started  for  a  bathe  on  his  beloved  old  pebble 
ridge.  As  he  passed  his  mother's  door,  he  could 
not  help  looking  in.  The  dim  light  of  morning 
showed  him  the  bed ;  but  its  pillow  had  not  been 
pressed  that  night.  His  mother,  in  her  long  white 
night-dress,  was  kneeling  at  the  other  end  of  the 
chamber  at  her  prie-dieu,  absorbed  in  devotion. 
Gently  he  slipped  in  without  a  word,  and  knelt 
down  at  her  side,  She  turned,  smiled,  passed  her 


Of  Two  Gentlemen  of  Wales      75 

arm  around  him,  and  went  on  silently  with  her 
prayers.  Why  not?  They  were  for  him,  and  he 
knew  it,  and  prayed  also;  and  his  prayers  were 
for  her,  and  for  poor  lost  John  Oxenham,  and  all 
his  vanished  crew. 

At  last  she  rose,  and  standing  above  him, 
parted  the  yellow  locks  from  off  his  brow,  and 
looked  long  and  lovingly  into  his  face.  There 
was  nothing  to  be  spoken,  for  there  was  noth- 
ing to  be  concealed  between  these  two  souls  as 
clear  as  glass.  Each  knew  all  which  the  other 
meant;  each  knew  that  its  own  thoughts  were 
known.  At  last  the  mutual  gaze  was  over;  she 
stooped  and  kissed  him  on  the  brow,  and  was  in 
the  act  to  turn  away,  as  a  tear  dropped  on  his  fore- 
head. Her  little  bare  feet  were  peeping  out  from 
under  her  dress.  He  bent  down  and  kissed  them 
again  and  again ;  and  then  looking  up,  as  if  to  ex- 
cuse himself,  — 

"  You  have  such  pretty  feet,  mother !  " 

Instantly,  with  a  woman's  instinct,  she  had  hidden 
them.  She  had  been  a  beauty  once,  as  I  said ;  and 
though  her  hair  was  gray,  and  her  roses  had  faded 
long  ago,  she  was  beautiful  still,  in  all  eyes  which 
saw  deeper  than  the  mere  outward  red  and  white. 

"Your  dear  father  used  to  say  so  thirty  years  ago." 

"  And  I  say  so  still :  you  always  were  beautiful ; 
you  are  beautiful  now." 

"  What  is  that  to  you,  silly  boy?  Will  you  play 
the  lover  with  an  old  mother?  Go  and  take  your 
walk,  and  think  of  younger  ladies,  if  you  can  find 
any  worthy  of  you." 

And  so  the  son  went  forth,  and  the  mother  re- 
turned to  her  prayers. 

He  walked  down  to  the  pebble  ridge,  where  the 


j6  Westward  Ho  ! 

surges  of  the  bay  have  defeated  their  own  fury,  by 
rolling  up  in  the  course  of  ages  a  rampart  of  gray 
boulder-stones,  some  two  miles  long,  as  cunningly 
curved,  and  smoothed,  and  fitted,  as  if  the  work 
had  been  done  by  human  hands,  which  protects 
from  the  high  tides  of  spring  and  autumn  a  fertile 
sheet  of  smooth,  alluvial  turf.  Sniffing  the  keen 
salt  air  like  a  young  sea-dog,  he  stripped  and 
plunged  into  the  breakers,  and  dived,  and  rolled, 
and  tossed  about  the  foam  with  stalwart  arms,  till 
he  heard  himself  hailed  from  off  the  shore,  and 
looking  up,  saw  standing  on  the  top  of  the  ram- 
part the  tall  figure  of  his  cousin  Eustace. 

Amyas  was  half-disappointed  at  his  coming;  for, 
love-lorn  rascal,  he  had  been  dreaming  all  the  way 
thither  of  Rose  Salterne,  and  had  no  wish  for  a 
companion  who  would  prevent  his  dreaming  of  her 
all  the  way  back.  Nevertheless,  not  having  seen 
Eustace  for  three  years,  it  was  but  civil  to  scramble 
out  and  dress,  while  his  cousin  walked  up  and 
down  upon  the  turf  inside. 

Eustace  Leigh  was  the  son  of  a  younger  brother 
of  Leigh  of  Burrough,  who  had  more  or  less  cut 
himself  off  from  his  family,  and  indeed  from  his 
countrymen,  by  remaining  a  Papist.  True,  though 
born  a  Papist,  he  had  not  always  been  one ;  for, 
like  many  of  the  gentry,  he  had  become  a  Protes- 
tant under  Edward  the  Sixth,  and  then  a  Papist 
again  under  Mary.  But,  to  his  honor  be  it  said,  at 
that  point  he  had  stopped,  having  too  much  hon- 
esty to  turn  Protestant  a  second  time,  as  hundreds 
did,  at  Elizabeth's  accession.  So  a  Papist  he  re- 
mained, living  out  of  the  way  of  the  world  in  a 
great,  rambling,  dark  house,  still  called  "  Chapel," 
on  the  Atlantic  cliffs,  in  Moorwinstow  parish,  not 


Of  Two  Gentlemen  of  Wales       77 

far  from  Sir  Richard  Grenville's  house  of  Stow. 
The  penal  laws  never  troubled  him ;  for,  in  the  first 
place,  they  never  troubled  any  one  who  did  not 
make  conspiracy  and  rebellion  an  integral  doctrine 
of  his  religious  creed ;  and  next,  they  seldom  trou- 
bled even  them,  unless,  fired  with  the  glory  of 
martyrdom,  they  bullied  the  long-suffering  of  Eliz- 
abeth and  her  council  into  giving  them  their  de- 
serts, and,  like  poor  Father  Southwell  in  after  years, 
insisted  on  being  hanged,  whether  Burleigh  liked 
or  not.  Moreover,  in  such  a  no-man's-land  and 
end-of-all-the-earth  was  that  old  house  at  Moor- 
winstow,  that  a  dozen  conspiracies  might  have  been 
hatched  there  without  any  one  hearing  of  it ;  and 
Jesuits  and  seminary  priests  skulked  in  and  out  all 
the  year  round,  unquestioned  though  unblest ;  and 
found  a  sort  of  piquant  pleasure,  like  naughty  boys 
who  have  crept  into  the  store-closet,  in  living  in 
mysterious  little  dens  in  a  lonely  turret,  and  going 
up  through  a  trap-door  to  celebrate  mass  in  a  se- 
cret chamber  in  the  roof,  where  they  were  allowed 
by  the  powers  that  were  to  play  as  much  as  they 
chose  at  persecuted  saints,  and  preach  about  hid- 
ing in  dens  and  caves  of  the  earth.  For  once, 
when  the  zealous  parson  of  Moorwinstow,  having 
discovered  (what  everybody  knew  already)  the 
existence  of  "mass  priests  and  their  idolatry"  at 
Chapel  House,  made  formal  complaint  thereof  to 
Sir  Richard,  and  called  on  him,  as  the  nearest  jus- 
tice of  the  peace,  to  put  in  force  the  act  of  the 
fourteenth  of  Elizabeth,  that  worthy  knight  only 
rated  him  soundly  for  a  fantastical  Puritan,  and 
bade  him  mind  his  own  business,  if  he  wished  not 
to  make  the  place  too  hot  for  him ;  whereon  (for 
the  temporal  authorities,  happily  for  the  peace  of 


78  Westward  Ho  ! 

England,  kept  in  those  days  a  somewhat  tight  hand 
upon  the  spiritual  ones)  the  worthy  parson  sub- 
sided, —  for,  after  all,  Mr.  Thomas  Leigh  paid  his 
tithes  regularly  enough,  —  and  was  content,  as  he 
expressed  it,  to  bow  his  head  in  the  house  of  Rim- 
mon  like  Naaman  of  old,  by  eating  Mr.  Leigh's 
dinners  as  often  as  he  was  invited,  and  ignoring  the 
vocation  of  old  Father  Francis,  who  sat  opposite 
to  him,  dressed  as  a  layman,  and  calling  himself 
the  young  gentleman's  pedagogue. 

But  the  said  birds  of  ill-omen  had  a  very  con- 
siderable lien  on  the  conscience  of  poor  Mr. 
Thomas  Leigh,  the  father  of  Eustace,  in  the  form 
of  certain  lands  once  belonging  to  the  Abbey  of 
Hartland.  He  more  than  half  believed  that  he 
should  be  lost  for  holding  those  lands ;  but  he  did 
not  believe  it  wholly,  and,  therefore,  he  did  not 
give  them  up ;  which  was  the  case,  as  poor  Mary 
Tudor  found  to  her  sorrow,  with  most  of  her 
"  Catholic "  subjects,  whose  consciences,  while 
they  compelled  them  to  return  to  the  only  safe 
fold  of  Mother  Church  (extrd  quant  nulla  salus), 
by  no  means  compelled  them  to  disgorge  the 
wealth  of  which  they  had  plundered  that  only 
hope  of  their  salvation.  Most  of  them,  however, 
like  poor  Tom  Leigh,  felt  the  abbey  rents  burn  in 
their  purses ;  and,  as  John  Bull  generally  does  in 
a  difficulty,  compromised  the  matter  by  a  second 
folly  (as  if  two  wrong  things  made  one  right  one), 
and  petted  foreign  priests,  and  listened,  or  pre- 
tended not  to  listen,  to  their  plottings  and  their 
practisings;  and  gave  up  a  son  here,  and  a  son 
there,  as  a  sort  of  a  sin-offering  and  scapegoat,  to 
be  carried  off  to  Douay,  or  Rheims,  or  Rome,  and 
trained  as  a  seminary  priest;  in  plain  English,  to 


Of  Two  Gentlemen  of  Wales       79 

be  taught  the  science  of  villainy,  on  the  motive  of 
superstition.  One  of  such  napless  scapegoats, 
and  children  who  had  been  cast  into  the  fire  to 
Moloch,  was  Eustace  Leigh,  whom  his  father  had 
sent,  giving  the  fruit  of  his  body  for  the  sin  of  his 
soul,  to  be  made  a  liar  of  at  Rheims. 

And  a  very  fair  liar  he  had  become.  Not  that 
the  lad  was  a  bad  fellow  at  heart;  but  he  had 
been  chosen  by  the  harpies  at  home,  on  account 
of  his  "  peculiar  vocation ; "  in  plain  English, 
because  the  wily  priests  had  seen  in  him  certain 
capacities  of  vague  hysterical  fear  of  the  unseen 
(the  religious  sentiment,  we  call  it  now-a-days), 
and  with  them  that  tendency  to  be  a  rogue,  which 
superstitious  men  always  have.  He  was  now  a 
tall,  handsome,  light-complexioned  man,  with  a 
huge  upright  forehead,  a  very  small  mouth,  and 
a  dry  and  set  expression  of  face,  which  was  always 
trying  to  get  free,  or  rather  to  seem  free,  and  in- 
dulge in  smiles  and  dimples  which  were  proper; 
for  one  ought  to  have  Christian  love,  and  if  one  had 
love  one  ought  to  be  cheerful,  and  when  people 
were  cheerful  they  smiled ;  and  therefore  he  would 
smile,  and  tried  to  do  so ;  but  his  charity  prepense 
looked  no  more  alluring  than  malice  prepense 
would  have  done ;  and,  had  he  not  been  really  a 
handsome  fellow,  many  a  woman  who  raved  about 
his  sweetness  would  have  likened  his  frankness  to 
that  of  a  skeleton  dancing  in  fetters,  and  his  smiles 
to  the  grins  thereof. 

He  had  returned  to  England  about  a  month 
before,  in  obedience  to  the  proclamation  which 
had  been  set  forth  for  that  purpose  (and  certainly 
not  before  it  was  needed),  that,  "whosoever  had 
children,  wards,  etc.,  in  the  parts  beyond  the  seas, 


80  Westward  Ho ! 

should  send  in  their  names  to  the  ordinary,  and 
within  four  months  call  them  home  again."  So 
Eustace  was  now  staying  with  his  father  at  Chapel, 
having,  nevertheless,  his  private  matters  to  trans- 
act on  behalf  of  the  virtuous  society  by  whom  he 
had  been  brought  up ;  one  of  which  private  mat- 
ters had  brought  him  to  Bideford  the  night  before. 

So  he  sat  down  beside  Amyas  on  the  pebbles, 
and  looked  at  him  all  over  out  of  the  corners  of 
his  eyes  very  gently,  as  if  he  did  not  wish  to  hurt 
him,  or  even  the  flies  on  his  back;  and  Amyas 
faced  right  round,  and  looked  him  full  in  the  face, 
with  the  heartiest  of  smiles,  and  held  out  a  lion's 
paw,  which  Eustace  took  rapturously,  and  a  great 
shaking  of  hands  ensued ;  Amyas  gripping  with  a 
great  round  fist,  and  a  quiet  quiver  thereof,  as 
much  as  to  say,  "  I  am  glad  to  see  you ;  "  and 
Eustace  pinching  hard  with  white,  straight  fingers, 
and  sawing  the  air  violently  up  and  down,  as  much 
as  to  say,  "  Don't  you  see  how  glad  I  am  to  see 
you  ?  "  A  very  different  greeting  from  the  former. 

"  Hold  hard,  old  lad,"  said  Amyas,  "  before  you 
break  my  elbow.  And  where  do  you  come  from  ?  " 

"  From  going  to  and  fro  in  the  earth,  and  from 
walking  up  and  down  in  it,"  said  he,  with  a  little 
smile  and  nod  of  mysterious  self-importance. 

"  Like  the  devil,  eh  ?  Well,  every  man  has  his 
pattern.  How  is  my  uncle?" 

Now,  if  there  was  one  man  on  earth  above 
another,  of  whom  Eustace  Leigh  stood  in  dread,  it 
was  his  cousin  Amyas.  In  the  first  place,  he 
knew  Amyas  could  have  killed  him  with  a  blow ; 
and  there  are  natures,  who,  instead  of  rejoicing  in 
the  strength  of  men  of  greater  prowess  than  them- 
selves, look  at  such  with  irritation,  dread,  at  last, 


Of  Two  Gentlemen  of  Wales       8 1 

spite;  expecting,  perhaps,  that  the  stronger  will 
do  to  them  what  they  feel  they  might  have  done 
in  his  place.  Every  one,  perhaps,  has  the  same 
envious,  cowardly  devil  haunting  about  his  heart; 
but  the  brave  men,  though  they  be  very  sparrows, 
kick  him  out;  the  cowards  keep  him,  and  foster 
him;  and  so  did  poor  Eustace  Leigh. 

Next,  he  could  not  help  feeling  that  Amyas 
despised  him.  They  had  not  met  for  three  years ; 
but  before  Amyas  went,  Eustace  never  could 
argue  with  him,  simply  because  Amyas  treated 
him  as  beneath  argument.  No  doubt  he  was 
often  rude  and  unfair  enough ;  but  the  whole  mass 
of  questions  concerning  the  unseen  world,  which 
the  priests  had  stimulated  in  his  cousin's  mind 
into  an  unhealthy  fungus  crop,  were  to  Amyas 
simply,  as  he  expressed  it,  "wind  and  moon- 
shine ;  "  and  he  treated  his  cousin  as  a  sort  of 
harmless  lunatic,  and,  as  they  say  in  Devon,  "  half- 
baked."  And  Eustace  knew  it;  and  knew,  too, 
that  his  cousin  did  him  an  injustice.  "  He  used  to 
undervalue  me,"  said  he  to  himself;  "  let  us  see 
whether  he  does  not  find  me  a  match  for  him 
now."  And  then  went  off  into  an  agony  of  secret 
contrition  for  his  self-seeking  and  his  forgetting 
that  "  the  glory  of  God,  and  not  his  own  exalta- 
tion," was  the  object  of  his  existence. 

There,  dear  readers,  Ex  pede  Herculem;  I  can- 
not tire  myself  or  you  (especially  in  this  book) 
with  any  wire-drawn  soul-dissections.  I  have  tried 
to  hint  to  you  two  opposite  sorts  of  men,  —  the 
one  trying  to  be  good  with  all  his  might  and  main, 
according  to  certain  approved  methods  and  rules, 
which  he  has  got  by  heart,  and  like  a  weak  oars- 
man, feeling  and  fingering  his  spiritual  muscles 


82  Westward  Ho! 

over  all  day,  to  see  if  they  are  growing;  the 
other  not  even  knowing  whether  he  is  good  or 
not,  but  just  doing  the  right  thing  without  think- 
ing about  it,  as  simply  as  a  little  child,  because  the 
Spirit  of  God  is  with  him.  If  you  cannot  see  the 
great  gulf  fixed  between  the  two,  I  trust  that  you 
will  discover  it  some  day. 

But  in  justice  be  it  said,  all  this  came  upon 
Eustace,  not  because  he  was  a  Romanist,  but 
because  he  was  educated  by  the  Jesuits.  Had  he 
been  saved  from  them,  he  might  have  lived  and 
died  as  simple  and  honest  a  gentleman  as  his 
brothers,  who  turned  out  like  true  Englishmen  (as 
did  all  the  Romish  laity)  to  face  the  great  Armada, 
and  one  of  whom  was  fighting  at  that  very  minute 
under  St.  Leger  in  Ireland,  and  as  brave  and 
loyal  a  soldier  as  those  Roman  Catholics  whose 
noble  blood  has  stained  every  Crimean  battle- 
field ;  but  his  fate  was  appointed  otherwise ;  and 
the  Upas-shadow  which  has  blighted  the  whole 
Romish  Church,  blighted  him  also. 

"  Ah,  my  dearest  cousin !  "  said  Eustace,  "  how 
disappointed  I  was  this  morning  at  finding  I  had 
arrived  just  a  day  too  late  to  witness  your  triumph ! 
But  I  hastened  to  your  home  as  soon  as  I  could, 
and  learning  from  your  mother  that  I  should  find 
you  here,  hurried  down  to  bid  you  welcome  again 
to  Devon." 

"  Well,  old  lad,  it  does  look  very  natural  to  see 
you.  I  often  used  to  think  of  you  walking  the  deck 
o'  nights.  Uncle  and  the  girls  are  all  right,  then? 
But  is  the  old  pony  dead  yet?  And  how's  Dick 
the  smith,  and  Nancy?  Grown  a  fine  maid  by 
now,  I  warrant.  'Slid,  it  seems  half  a  life  that  I  Ve 
been  away." 


Of  Two  Gentlemen  of  Wales       83 

"And  you  really  thought  of  your  poor  cousin? 
Be  sure  that  he,  too,  thought  of  you,  and  offered 
up  nightly  his  weak  prayers  for  your  safety 
(doubtless,  not  without  avail)  to  those  saints,  to 
whom  would  that  you " 

"  Halt  there,  coz.  If  they  are  half  as  good  fel- 
lows as  you  and  I  take  them  for,  they  '11  help  me 
without  asking." 

"  They  have  helped  you,  Amyas." 

"  Maybe ;  I  'd  have  done  as  much,  I  'm  sure,  for 
them,  if  I  'd  been  in  their  place." 

"  And  do  you  not  feel,  then,  that  you  owe  a  debt 
of  gratitude  to  them ;  and,  above  all,  to  her,  whose 
intercessions  have,  I  doubt  not,  availed  for  your 
preservation?  Her,  the  star  of  the  sea,  the  all- 
compassionate  guide  of  the  mariner?" 

"  Humph  !  "  said  Amyas.  "  Here 's  Frank ;  let 
him  answer." 

And,  as  he  spoke,  up  came  Frank,  and  after  due 
greetings,  sat  down  beside  them  on  the  ridge. 

"  I  say,  brother,  here 's  Eustace  trying  already 
to  convert  me;  and  telling  me  that  I  owe  all 
my  luck  to  the  Blessed  Virgin's  prayers  for 
me." 

"  It  may  be  so,"  said  Frank ;  "  at  least  you  owe 
it  to  the  prayers  of  that  most  pure  and  peerless 
virgin  by  whose  commands  you  sailed ;  the  sweet 
incense  of  whose  orisons  has  gone  up  for  you 
daily,  and  for  whose  sake  you  were  preserved 
from  flood  and  foe,  that  you  might  spread  the 
fame  and  advance  the  power  of  the  spotless 
championess  of  truth,  and  right,  and  freedom, — 
Elizabeth,  your  queen." 

Amyas  answered  this  rhapsody,  which  would 
have  been  then  both  fashionable  and  sincere,  by 


84  Westward  Ho  ! 

a  loyal  chuckle.  Eustace  smiled  meekly,  but 
answered  somewhat  venomously  nevertheless  — 

"  I,  at  least,  am  certain  that  I  speak  the  truth, 
when  I  call  my  patroness  a  virgin  undefiled." 

Both  the  brothers'  brows  clouded  at  once. 
Amyas,  as  he  lay  on  his  back  on  the  pebbles, 
said  quietly  to  the  gulls  over  his  head  — 

"  I  wonder  what  the  Frenchman  whose  head  I 
cut  off  at  the  Azores,  thinks  by  now  about  all 
that." 

"  Cut  off  a  Frenchman's  head  ?  "  said  Frank. 

"  Yes,  faith ;  and  so  fleshed  my  maiden  sword. 
I  '11  tell  you.  It  was  in  some  tavern ;  I  and  George 
Drake  had  gone  in,  and  there  sat  this  Frenchman, 
with  his  sword  on  the  table,  ready  for  a  quarrel 
(I  found  afterwards  he  was  a  noted  bully),  and 
begins  with  us  loudly  enough  about  this  and  that ; 
but,  after  awhile,  by  the  instigation  of  the  devil, 
what  does  he  vent  but  a  dozen  slanders  against 
her  majesty's  honor,  one  atop  of  the  other?  I  was 
ashamed  to  hear  them,  and  I  should  be  more 
ashamed  to  repeat  them." 

"  I  have  heard  enough  of  such,"  said  Frank. 
"They  come  mostly  through  lewd  rascals  about 
the  French  ambassador,  who  have  been  bred 
(God  help  them)  among  the  filthy  vices  of  that 
Medicean  Court  in  which  the  Queen  of  Scots 
had  her  schooling;  and  can  only  perceive  in  a 
virtuous  freedom  a  cloak  for  licentiousness  like 
their  own.  Let  the  curs  bark;  Honi soit  qui  mat 
y  pense  is  our  motto,  and  shall  be  forever." 

"But  I  didn't  let  the  cur  bark;  for  I  took  him 
by  the  ears,  to  show  him  out  into  the  street. 
Whereon  he  got  to  his  sword,  and  I  to  mine; 
and  a  very  near  chance  I  had  of  never  bathing 


Of  Two  Gentlemen  of  Wales       85 

on  the  pebble  ridge  more ;  for  the  fellow  did  not 
fight  with  edge  and  buckler,  like  a  Christian,  but 
had  some  newfangled  French  devil's  device  of 
scryming  and  foining  with  his  point,  ha'ing  and 
stamping,  and  tracing  at  me,  that  I  expected  to 
be  full  of  eyelet  holes  ere  I  could  close  with  him." 

"Thank  God  that  you  are  safe,  then!"  said 
Frank.  "  I  know  that  play  well  enough,  and 
dangerous  enough  it  is." 

"  Of  course  you  know  it ;  but  I  did  n't,  more 's 
the  pity." 

"  Well,  I  '11  teach  it  thee,  lad,  as  well  as  Row- 
land Yorke  himself, 

'  Thy  fincture,  carricade,  and  sly  passata, 
Thy  stramazon,  and  resolute  stoccata, 
Wiping  maudritta,  closing  embrocata, 
And  all  the  cant  of  the  honorable  fencing  mystery.'" 

"  Rowland  Yorke  ?     Who  's  he,  then  ?  " 

"  A  very  roystering  rascal,  who  is  making  good 
profit  in  London  just  now  by  teaching  this  very 
art  of  fence ;  and  is  as  likely  to  have  his  mortal 
thread  clipt  in  a  tavern  brawl,  as  thy  Frenchman. 
But  how  did  you  escape  his  pinking  iron?" 

"How?  Had  it  through  my  left  arm  before  I 
could  look  round ;  and  at  that  I  got  mad,  and 
leapt  upon  him,  and  caught  him  by  the  wrist,  and 
then  had  a  fair  side-blow;  and,  as  fortune  would 
have  it,  off  tumbled  his  head  on  to  the  table,  and 
there  was  an  end  of  his  slanders." 

"  So  perish  all  her  enemies !  "  said  Frank ;  and 
Eustace,  who  had  been  trying  not  to  listen,  rose 
and  said  — 

"  I  trust  that  you  do  not  number  me  among 
them?" 


86  Westward  Ho ! 

"As  you  speak,  I  do,  coz,"  said  Frank.  "But 
for  your  own  sake,  let  me  advise  you  to  put  faith 
in  the  true  report  of  those  who  have  daily  experi- 
ence of  their  mistress's  excellent  virtue,  as  they 
have  of  the  sun's  shining,  and  of  the  earth's  bring- 
ing forth  fruit,  and  not  in  the  tattle  of  a  few  cow- 
ardly back-stair  rogues,  who  wish  to  curry  favor 
with  the  Guises.  Come,  we  will  say  no  more. 
Walk  round  with  us  by  Appledore,  and  then 
home  to  breakfast." 

But  Eustace  declined,  having  immediate  busi- 
ness, he  said,  in  Northam  town,  and  then  in 
Bideford ;  and  so  left  them  to  lounge  for  another 
half-hour  on  the  beach,  and  then  walk  across  the 
smooth  sheet  of  turf  to  the  little  white  fishing  vil- 
lage, which  stands  some  two  miles  above  the  bar, 
at  the  meeting  of  the  Torridge  and  the  Taw. 

Now  it  came  to  pass,  that  Eustace  Leigh,  as  we 
have  seen,  told  his  cousins  that  he  was  going  to 
Northam :  but  he  did  not  tell  them  that  his  point 
was  really  the  same  as  their  own,  namely,  Apple- 
dore ;  and,  therefore,  after  having  satisfied  his  con- 
science by  going  as  far  as  the  very  nearest  house 
in  Northam  village,  he  struck  away  sharp  to  the 
left  across  the  fields,  repeating  I  know  not  what 
to  the  Blessed  Virgin  all  the  way;  whereby  he 
went  several  miles  out  of  his  road ;  and  also,  as 
is  the  wont  of  crooked  spirits,  Jesuits  especially 
(as  three  centuries  sufficiently  testify),  only  out- 
witted himself.  For  his  cousins  going  merrily, 
like  honest  men,  along  the  straight  road  across 
the  turf,  arrived  in  Appledore,  opposite  the  little 
"Mariner's  Rest"  Inn,  just  in  time  to  see  what 
Eustace  had  taken  so  much  trouble  to  hide  from 
them,  namely,  four  of  Mr.  Thomas  Leigh's  horses 


Of  Two  Gentlemen  of  Wales       87 

standing  at  the  door,  held  by  his  groom,  saddles 
and  mail-bags  on  back,  and  mounting  three  of 
them,  Eustace  Leigh  and  two  strange  gentlemen. 

"  There 's  one  lie  already  this  morning,"  growled 
Amyas;  "  he  told  us  he  was  going  to  Northam." 

"And  we  do  not  know  that  he  has  not  been 
there,"  blandly  suggested  Frank. 

"Why,  you  are  as  bad  a  Jesuit  as  he,  to  help 
him  out  with  such  a  fetch." 

"  He  may  have  changed  his  mind." 

"  Bless  your  pure  imagination,  my  sweet  boy," 
said  Amyas,  laying  his  great  hand  on  Frank's  head, 
and  mimicking  his  mother's  manner.  "  I  say,  dear 
Frank,  let 's  step  into  this  shop  and  buy  a  penny- 
worth of  whipcord." 

"  What  do  you  want  with  whipcord,  man?  " 

"  To  spin  my  top,  to  be  sure." 

"  Top  ?  how  long  hast  had  a  top  ?  " 

"  I  '11  buy  one,  then,  and  save  my  conscience ; 
but  the  upshot  of  this  sport  I  must  see.  Why 
may  not  I  have  an  excuse  ready  made  as  well  as 
Master  Eustace  ?  " 

So  saying,  he  pulled  Frank  into  the  little  shop, 
unobserved  by  the  party  at  the  inn-door. 

"  What  strange  cattle  has  he  been  importing 
now?  Look  at  that  three-legged  fellow,  trying  to 
get  aloft  on  the  wrong  side.  How  he  claws  at  his 
horse's  ribs,  like  a  cat  scratching  an  elder  stem  !  " 

The  three-legged  man  was  a  tall,  meek-looking 
person,  who  had  bedizened  himself  with  gorgeous 
garments,  a  great  feather,  and  a  sword  so  long  and 
broad,  that  it  differed  little  in  size  from  the  very 
thin  and  stiff  shanks  between  which  it  wandered 
uncomfortably. 

"  Young  David  in  Saul's  weapons,"  said  Frank. 


88  Westward  Ho  ! 

"  He  had  better  not  go  in  them,  for  he  certainly 
has  not  proved  them." 

"  Look,  if  his  third  leg  is  not  turned  into  a  tail  I 
Why  does  not  some  one  in  charity  haul  in  half-a- 
yard  of  his  belt  for  him?  " 

It  was  too  true ;  the  sword,  after  being  kicked 
out  three  or  four  times  from  its  uncomfortable 
post  between  his  legs,  had  returned  unconquered ; 
and  the  hilt  getting  a  little  too  far  back  by  reason 
of  the  too  great  length  of  the  belt,  the  weapon 
took  up  its  post  triumphantly  behind,  standing 
out  point  in  air,  a  tail  confest,  amid  the  tittering 
of  the  ostlers,  and  the  cheers  of  the  sailors. 

At  last  the  poor  man,  by  dint  of  a  chair,  was 
mounted  safely,  while  his  fellow-stranger,  a  burly, 
coarse-looking  man,  equally  gay,  and  rather  more 
handy,  made  so  fierce  a  rush  at  his  saddle,  that, 
like  "vaulting  ambition  who  o'erleaps  his  selle," 
he  "  fell  on  t1  other  side :  "  or  would  have  fallen, 
had  he  not  been  brought  up  short  by  the  shoulders 
of  the  ostler  at  his  off-stirrup.  In  which  shock  off 
came  hat  and  feather. 

"  Pardie,  the  bulldog-faced  one  is  a  fighting 
man.  Dost  see,  Frank?  he  has  had  his  head 
broken." 

"  That  scar  came  not,  my  son,  but  by  a  pair  of 
most  Catholic  and  apostolic  scissors.  My  gentle 
buzzard,  that  is  a  priest's  tonsure." 

"  Hang  the  dog !  O,  that  the  sailors  may  but  see 
it,  and  put  him  over  the  quay  head.  I  Ve  a  half 
mind  to  go  and  do  it  myself." 

"  My  dear  Amyas,"  said  Frank,  laying  two 
fingers  on  his  arm,  "  these  men,  whosoever  they 
are,  are  the  guests  of  our  uncle,  and  therefore  the 
guests  of  our  family.  Ham  gained  little  by  pub- 


Of  Two  Gentlemen  of  Wales       89 

lishing  Noah's  shame;  neither  shall  we,  by  pub- 
lishing our  uncle's." 

"  Murrain  on  you,  old  Franky,  you  never  let  a 
man  speak  his  mind,  and  shame  the  devil." 

"  I  have  lived  long  enough  in  courts,  old  Amyas, 
without  a  murrain  on  you,  to  have  found  out,  first, 
that  it  is  not  so  easy  to  shame  the  devil;  and 
secondly,  that  it  is  better  to  outwit  him ;  and  the 
only  way  to  do  that,  sweet  chuck,  is  very  often 
not  to  speak  your  mind  at  all.  We  will  go  down 
and  visit  them  at  Chapel  in  a  day  or  two,  and  see 
if  we  cannot  serve  these  reynards  as  the  badger  did 
the  fox,  when  he  found  him  in  his  hole,  and  could 
not  get  him  out  by  evil  savors." 

"How  then?" 

"  Stuck  a  sweet  nosegay  in  the  door,  which 
turned  reynard's  stomach  at  once ;  and  so  over- 
came evil  with  good." 

"  Well,  thou  art  too  good  for  this  world,  that 's 
certain ;  so  we  will  go  home  to  breakfast.  Those 
rogues  are  out  of  sight  by  now." 

Nevertheless,  Amyas  was  not  proof  against  the 
temptation  of  going  over  to  the  inn-door,  and 
asking  who  were  the  gentlemen  who  went  with 
Mr.  Leigh 

"  Gentlemen  of  Wales,"  said  the  ostler,  "  who 
came  last  night  in  a  pinnace  from  Milford-haven, 
and  their  names,  Mr.  Morgan  Evans  and  Mr. 
Evan  Morgans." 

"  Mr.  Judas  Iscariot  and  Mr.  Iscariot  Judas," 
said  Amyas  between  his  teeth,  and  then  observed 
aloud,  that  the  Welsh  gentlemen  seemed  rather 
poor  horsemen. 

"  So  I  said  to  Mr.  Leigh's  groom,  your  worship. 
But  he  says  that  those  parts  be  so  uncommon 

Vol.  8-6 


go  Westward  Ho ! 

rough  and  mountainous,  that  the  poor  gentlemen, 
you  see,  being  enforced  to  hunt  on  foot,  have  no 
such  opportunities  as  young  gentlemen  hereabout, 
like  your  worship ;  whom  God  preserve,  and  send 
a  virtuous  lady,  and  one  worthy  of  you." 

"  Thou  hast  a  villainously  glib  tongue,  fellow !  " 
said  Amyas,  who  was  thoroughly  out  of  humor ; 
"  and  a  sneaking  down  visage  too,  when  I  come  to 
look  at  you.  I  doubt  but  you  are  a  Papist  too,  I 
do ! " 

"  Well,  sir !  and  what  if  I  am  !  I  trust  I  don't 
break  the  queen's  laws  by  that.  If  I  don't  attend 
Northam  church,  I  pay  my  month's  shilling  for  the 
use  of  the  poor,  as  the  act  directs;  and  beyond 
that,  neither  you  nor  any  man  dare  demand  of 
me." 

"  Dare !  act  directs  !  You  rascally  lawyer,  you  ! 
and  whence  does  an  ostler  like  you  get  your  shil- 
ling to  pay  withal  ?  Answer  me."  The  examinate 
found  it  so  difficult  to  answer  the  question,  that  he 
suddenly  became  afflicted  with  deafness. 

"Do  you  hear? "roared  Amyas,  catching  at  him 
with  his  lion's  paw. 

"  Yes,  missus ;  anon,  anon,  missus !  "  quoth  he 
to  an  imaginary  landlady  inside,  and  twisting 
under  Amyas's  hand  like  an  eel,  vanished  into 
the  house,  while  Frank  got  the  hot-headed  youth 
away. 

"  What  a  plague  is  one  to  do,  then  ?  That  fellow 
was  a  Papist  spy !  " 

"  Of  course  he  was  !  "  said  Frank. 

"  Then,  what  is  one  to  do,  if  the  whole  country 
is  full  of  them?" 

"Not  to  make  fools  of  ourselves  about  them, 
and  so  leave  them  to  make  fools  of  themselves." 


Of  Two  Gentlemen  of  Wales       9 1 

"That 's  all  very  fine :  but  —  well,  I  shall  remem- 
ber the  villain's  face  if  I  see  him  again." 

"  There  is  no  harm  in  that,"  said  Frank. 

"  Glad  you  think  so." 

"  Don't  quarrel  with  me,  Amyas,  the  first  day." 

"  Quarrel  with  thee,  my  darling  old  fellow !  I 
had  sooner  kiss  the  dust  off  thy  feet,  if  I  were 
worthy  of  it.  So  now  away  home;  my  inside 
cries  cupboard." 

In  the  meanwhile  Messrs.  Evans  and  Morgans 
were  riding  away,  as  fast  as  the  rough  by-lanes 
would  let  them,  along  the  fresh  coast  of  the  bay, 
steering  carefully  clear  of  Northam  town  on  the 
one  hand,  and  on  the  other,  of  Portledge,  where 
dwelt  that  most  Protestant  justice  of  the  peace, 
Mr.  Coffin.  And  it  was  well  for  them  that  neither 
Amyas  Leigh,  nor  indeed  any  other  loyal  English- 
man, was  by  when  they  entered,  as  they  shortly 
did,  the  lonely  woods  which  stretch  along  the 
southern  wall  of  the  bay.  For  there  Eustace 
Leigh  pulled  up  short;  and  both  he  and  his 
groom,  leaping  from  their  horses,  knelt  down 
humbly  in  the  wet  grass,  and  implored  the  bless- 
ing of  the  two  valiant  gentlemen  of  Wales,  who, 
having  graciously  bestowed  it  with  three  fingers 
apiece,  became  thenceforth  no  longer  Morgan 
Evans  and  Evan  Morgans,  Welshmen  and  gentle- 
men; but  Father  Parsons  and  Father  Campian, 
Jesuits,  and  gentlemen  in  no  sense  in  which  that 
word  is  applied  in  this  book. 

After  a  few  minutes,  the  party  were  again  in 
motion,  ambling  steadily  and  cautiously  along 
the  high  table-land,  towards  Moorwinstow  in  the 
west;  while  beneath  them  on  the  right,  at  the 
mouth  of  rich-wooded  glens,  opened  vistas  of 


92  Westward  Ho! 

the  bright  blue  bay,  and  beyond  it  the  sandhills  of 
Braunton,  and  the  ragged  rocks  of  Morte ;  while 
far  away  to  the  north  and  west  the  lonely  isle  of 
Lundy  hung  like  a  soft  gray  cloud. 

But  they  were  not  destined  to  reach  their  point 
as  peaceably  as  they  could  have  wished.  For 
just  as  they  got  opposite  Clovelly  dike,  the  huge 
old  Roman  encampment  which  stands  about  mid- 
way in  their  journey,  they  heard  a  halloo  from  the 
valley  below,  answered  by  a  fainter  one  far  ahead. 
At  which,  like  a  couple  of  rogues  (as  indeed  they 
were),  Father  Campian  and  Father  Parsons  looked 
at  each  other,  and  then  both  stared  round  at  the 
wild,  desolate,  open  pasture  (for  the  country  was 
then  all  unenclosed),  and  the  great  dark  furze- 
grown  banks  above  their  heads;  and  Campian 
remarked  gently  to  Parsons,  that  this  was  a  very 
dreary  spot,  and  likely  enough  for  robbers. 

"  A  likelier  spot  for  us,  Father,"  said  Eustace, 
punning.  "The  old  Romans  knew  what  they 
were  about  when  they  put  their  legions  up  aloft 
here  to  overlook  land  and  sea  for  miles  away; 
and  we  may  thank  them  some  day  for  their  leav- 
ings. The  banks  are  all  sound ;  there  is  plenty  of 
good  water  inside ;  and  "  (added  he  in  Latin),  "  in 
case  our  Spanish  friends — you  understand?" 

"  Pauca  verba,  my  son !  "  said  Campian :  but  as 
he  spoke,  up  from  the  ditch  close  beside  him,  as 
if  rising  out  of  the  earth,  burst  through  the  furze- 
bushes  an  armed  cavalier. 

"  Pardon,  gentlemen !  "  shouted  he,  as  the  Jesuit 
and  his  horse  recoiled  against  the  groom.  "  Stand, 
for  your  lives !  " 

"  Mater  coelorum  !  "  moaned  Campian ;  while  Par- 
sons, who,  as  all  the  world  knows,  was  a  bluster- 


Of  Two  Gentlemen  of  Wales       93 

ing  bully  enough  (at  least  with  his  tongue),  asked : 
What  a  murrain  right  had  he  to  stop  honest 
folks  on  the  queen's  highway?  confirming  the 
same  with  a  mighty  oath,  which  he  set  down  as 
peccatum  veniale,  on  account  of  the  sudden  neces- 
sity; nay,  indeed  fraus  pia,  as  proper  to  support 
the  character  of  that  valiant  gentleman  of  Wales, 
Mr.  Evan  Morgans.  But  the  horseman,  taking  no 
notice  of  his  hint,  dashed  across  the  nose  of 
Eustace  Leigh's  horse,  with  a  "  Hillo,  old  lad ! 
where  ridest  so  early?"  and  peering  down  for  a 
moment  into  the  ruts  of  the  narrow  track-way, 
struck  spurs  into  his  horse,  shouting,  "  A  fresh 
slot !  right  away  for  Hartland  !  Forward,  gentle- 
men all !  follow,  follow,  follow !  " 

"Who  is  this  roysterer?"  asked  Parsons,  loftily. 

"  Will  Gary,  of  Clovelly ;  an  awful  heretic :  and 
here  come  more  behind." 

And  as  he  spoke  four  or  five  more  mounted  gal- 
lants plunged  in  and  out  of  the  great  dikes,  and 
thundered  on  behind  the  party;  whose  horses, 
quite  understanding  what  game  was  up,  burst  into 
full  gallop,  neighing  and  squealing ;  and  in  another 
minute  the  hapless  Jesuits  were  hurling  along  over 
moor  and  moss  after  a  "  hart  of  grease." 

Parsons,  who,  though  a  vulgar  bully,  was  no 
coward,  supported  the  character  of  Mr.  Evan 
Morgans  well  enough ;  and  he  would  have  really 
enjoyed  himself,  had  he  not  been  in  agonies  of 
fear  lest  those  precious  saddle-bags  in  front  of  him 
should  break  from  their  lashings,  and  rolling  to 
the  earth,  expose  to  the  hoofs  of  heretic  horses, 
perhaps  to  the  gaze  of  heretic  eyes,  such  a  cargo 
of  bulls,  dispensations,  secret  correspondences, 
seditious  tracts,  and  so  forth,  that  at  the  very 


94  Westward  Ho ! 

thought  of  their  being  seen,  his  head  felt  loose 
upon  his  shoulders.  But  the  future  martyr  be- 
hind him,  Mr.  Morgan  Evans,  gave  himself  up  at 
once  to  abject  despair,  and  as  he  bumped  and 
rolled  along,  sought  vainly  for  comfort  in  profes- 
sional ejaculations  in  the  Latin  tongue. 

"  Mater  intemerata  !  Eripe  me  e  —  Ugh  !  I  am 
down!  Adh&sit  pavimento  venter!  —  No!  I  am 
not !  Et  dilectum  tuum  e  potestate  cants  —  Ah  ! 
Audisti  me  inter  cornua  unicornium  !  Put  this, 
too,  down  in  —  ugh  !  —  thy  account  in  favor  of  my 
poor  —  oh,  sharpness  of  this  saddle  !  Oh,  whither, 
barbarous  islanders !  " 

Now  riding  on  his  quarter,  not  in  the  rough 
track-way  like  a  cockney,  but  through  the  soft 
heather  like  a  sportsman,  was  a  very  gallant 
knight  whom  we  all  know  well  by  this  time, 
Richard  Grenville  by  name;  who  had  made  Mr. 
Gary  and  the  rest  his  guests  the  night  before,  and 
then  ridden  out  with  them  at  five  o'clock  that 
morning,  after  the  wholesome  early  ways  of  the 
time,  to  rouse  a  well-known  stag  in  the  glens  at 
Buckish,  by  help  of  Mr.  Coffin's  hounds  from 
Portledge.  Who  being  as  good  a  Latiner  as  Cam- 
pian's  self,  and  overhearing  both  the  scraps  of 
psalm  and  the  "  barbarous  islanders,"  pushed  his 
horse  alongside  of  Mr.  Eustace  Leigh,  and  at  the 
first  check  said,  with  two  low  bows  towards  the 
two  strangers  — 

"I  hope  Mr.  Leigh  will  do  me  the  honor  of 
introducing  me  to  his  guests.  I  should  be  sorry, 
and  Mr.  Gary  also,  that  any  gentle  strangers 
should  become  neighbors  of  ours,  even  for  a  day, 
without  our  knowing  who  they  are  who  honor  our 
western  Thule  with  a  visit;  and  showing  them 


Of  Two  Gentlemen  of  Wales       95 

ourselves  all   due  requital  for  the  compliment  of 
their  presence." 

After  which,  the  only  thing  which  poor  Eustace 
could  do  (especially  as  it  was  spoken  loud  enough 
for  all  bystanders),  was  to  introduce  in  due  form 
Mr.  Evan  Morgans  and  Mr.  Morgan  Evans,  who, 
hearing  the  name,  and,  what  was  worse,  seeing  the 
terrible  face  with  its  quiet  searching  eye,  felt  like  a 
brace  of  partridge-poults  cowering  in  the  stubble, 
with  a  hawk  hanging  ten  feet  over  their  heads. 

"  Gentlemen,"  said  Sir  Richard  blandly,  cap  in 
hand,  "  I  fear  that  your  mails  must  have  been 
somewhat  in  your  way  in  this  unexpected  gallop. 
If  you  will  permit  my  groom,  who  is  behind,  to  dis- 
encumber you  of  them  and  .carry  them  to  Chapel, 
you  will  both  confer  an  honor  on  me,  and  be  en- 
abled yourselves  to  see  the  mort  more  pleasantly." 

A  twinkle  of  fun,  in  spite  of  all  his  efforts, 
played  about  good  Sir  Richard's  eye  as  he  gave 
this  searching  hint.  The  two  Welsh  gentlemen 
stammered  out  clumsy  thanks ;  and  pleading  great 
haste  and  fatigue  from  a  long  journey,  contrived 
to  fall  to  the  rear  and  vanish  with  their  guides,  as 
soon  as  the  slot  had  been  recovered. 

"  Will !  "  said  Sir  Richard,  pushing  alongside  of 
young  Gary. 

"  Your  worship  ?  " 

"Jesuits,  Will!" 

"  May  the  father  of  lies  fly  away  with  them  over 
the  nearest  cliff ! " 

"  He  will  not  do  that  while  this  Irish  trouble 
is  about.  Those  fellows  are  come  to  practise 
here  for  Saunders  and  Desmond." 

"  Perhaps  they  have  a  consecrated  banner  in 
their  bag,  the  scoundrels!  Shall  I  and  young 


96  Westward  Ho! 

Coffin  on  and  stop  them?     Hard  if  the  honest 
men  may  not  rob  the  thieves  once  in  a  way." 

"No;  give  the  devil  rope,  and  he  will  hang 
himself.  Keep  thy  tongue  at  home,  and  thine 
eyes  too,  Will." 

"How  then?" 

M  Let  Clovelly  beach  be  watched  night  and  day 
like  any  mousehole.  No  one  can  land  round 
Harty  Point  with  these  south-westers.  Stop 
every  fellow  who  has  the  ghost  of  an  Irish  brogue, 
come  he  in  or  go  he  out,  and  send  him  over  to 
me." 

"  Some  one  should  guard  Bude-haven,  sir. " 

"  Leave  that  to  me.  Now  then,  forward,  gentle- 
men all,  or  the  stag  will  take  the  sea  at  the 
Abbey." 

And  on  they  crashed  down  the  Hartland  glens, 
through  the  oak-scrub  and  the  great  crown-ferns ; 
and  the  baying  of  the  slow-hound  and  the  tantaras 
of  the  horn  died  away  farther  and  fainter  toward 
the  blue  Atlantic,  while  the  conspirators,  with 
lightened  hearts,  pricked  fast  across  Bursdon 
upon  their  evil  errand  But  Eustace  Leigh  had 
other  thoughts  and  other  cares  than  the  safety  of 
his  father's  two  mysterious  guests,  important  as 
that  was  in  his  eyes ;  for  he  was  one  of  the  many 
who  had  drunk  in  sweet  poison  (though  in  his 
case  it  could  hardly  be  called  sweet)  from  the 
magic  glances  of  the  Rose  of  Torridge.  He  had 
seen  her  in  the  town,  and  for  the  first  time  in  his 
life  fallen  utterly  in  love;  and  now  that  she  had 
come  down  close  to  his  father's  house,  he  looked 
on  her  as  a  lamb  fallen  unawares  into  the  jaws  of 
the  greedy  wolf,  which  he  felt  himself  to  be. 
For  Eustace's  love  had  little  or  nothing  of 


Of  Two  Gentlemen  of  Wales       97 

chivalry,  self-sacrifice,  or  purity  in  it;  those  were 
virtues  which  were  not  taught  at  Rheims.  Careful 
as  the  Jesuits  were  over  the  practical  morality  of 
their  pupils,  this  severe  restraint  had  little  effect 
in  producing  real  habits  of  self-control.  What 
little  Eustace  had  learnt  of  women  from  them, 
was  as  base  and  vulgar  as  the  rest  of  their  teach- 
ing. What  could  it  be  else,  if  instilled  by  men 
educated  in  the  schools  of  Italy  and  France,  in 
the  age  which  produced  the  foul  novels  of  Cinthio 
and  Bandello,  and  compelled  Rabelais  in  order  to 
escape  the  rack  and  stake,  to  hide  the  light  of  his 
great  wisdom,  not  beneath  a  bushel,  but  beneath 
a  dunghill;  the  age  in  which  the  Romish  Church 
had  made  marriage  a  legalized  tyranny,  and  the 
laity,  by  a  natural  and  pardonable  revulsion,  had 
exalted  adultery  into  a  virtue  and  a  science? 
That  all  love  was  lust ;  that  all  women  had  their 
price;  that  profligacy,  though  an  ecclesiastical 
sin,  was  so  pardonable,  if  not  necessary,  as  to  be 
hardly  a  moral  sin,  were  notions  which  Eustace 
must  needs  have  gathered  from  the  hints  of  his 
preceptors;  for  their  written  works  bear  to  this 
day  fullest  and  foulest  testimony  that  such  was 
their  opinion;  and  that  their  conception  of  the 
relation  of  the  sexes  was  really  not  a  whit  higher 
than  that  of  the  profligate  laity  who  confessed 
to  them.  He  longed  to  marry  Rose  Salterne, 
with  a  wild  selfish  fury;  but  only  that  he  might 
be  able  to  claim  her  as  his  own  property,  and 
keep  all  others  from  her.  Of  her  as  a  co-equal 
and  ennobling  helpmate;  as  one  in  whose  honor, 
glory,  growth  of  heart  and  soul,  his  own  were 
inextricably  wrapt  up,  he  had  never  dreamed. 
Marriage  would  prevent  God  from  being  angry 


90  Westward  Ho ! 

with  that,  with  which  otherwise  He  might  be 
angry ;  and  therefore  the  sanction  of  the  Church 
was  the  more  "probable  and  safe"  course.  But 
as  yet  his  suit  was  in  very  embryo.  He  could 
not  even  tell  whether  Rose  knew  of  his  love ;  and 
he  wasted  miserable  hours  in  maddening  thoughts, 
and  tost  all  night  upon  his  sleepless  bed,  and  rose 
next  morning  fierce  and  pale,  to  invent  fresh 
excuses  for  going  over  to  her  uncle's  house,  and 
lingering  about  the  fruit  which  he  dared  not 
snatch. 


CHAPTER  TV 

THE  TWO  WAYS   OF  BEING  CROST  IN  LOVB 

"  I  could  not  love  thee,  dear,  so  much, 
Loved  I  not  honor  more."  —  LOVELACE. 

AND  what  all  this  while  has  become  of  the 
fair  breaker  of  so  many  hearts,  to  whom  I 
have  not  yet  even  introduced  my  readers  ? 

She  was  sitting  in  the  little  farm-house  beside 
the  mill,  buried  in  the  green  depths  of  the  valley 
of  Combe,  half-way  between  Stow  and  Chapel, 
sulking  as  much  as  her  sweet  nature  would  let 
her,  at  being  thus  shut  out  from  all  the  grand 
doings  at  Bideford,  and  forced  to  keep  a  Martinmas 
Lent  in  that  far  western  glen.  So  lonely  was 
she,  in  fact,  that  though  she  regarded  Eustace 
Leigh  with  somewhat  of  aversion,  and  (being  a 
good  Protestant)  with  a  great  deal  of  suspicion, 
she  could  not  find  it  in  her  heart  to  avoid  a  chat 
with  him  whenever  he  came  down  to  the  farm 
and  to  its  mill,  which  he  contrived  to  do,  on  I 
know  not  what  would-be  errand,  almost  every 
day.  Her  uncle  and  aunt  at  first  looked  stiff 
enough  at  these  visits,  and  the  latter  took  care 
always  to  make  a  third  in  every  conversation ;  but 
still  Mr.  Leigh  was  a  gentleman's  son,  and  it 
would  not  do  to  be  rude  to  a  neighboring  squire 
and  a  good  customer;  and  Rose  was  the  rich 
man's  daughter  and  they  poor  cousins,  so  it  would 


I  oo  Westward  Ho  ! 

not  do  either  to  quarrel  with  her;  and  besides, 
the  pretty  maid,  half  by  wilfulness,  and  half  by 
her  sweet  winning  tricks,  generally  contrived  to 
get  her  own  way  wheresoever  she  went ;  and  she 
herself  had  been  wise  enough  to  beg  her  aunt 
never  to  leave  them  alone,  —  for  she  "  could  not 
a-bear  the  sight  of  Mr.  Eustace,  only  she  must 
have  some  one  to  talk  with  down  here."  On 
which  her  aunt  considered,  that  she  herself  was 
but  a  simple  country-woman ;  and  that  townsfolks' 
ways  of  course  must  be  very  different  from  hers; 
and  that  people  knew  their  own  business  best; 
and  so  forth,  and  let  things  go  on  their  own  way. 
Eustace,  in  the  meanwhile,  who  knew  well  that 
the  difference  in  creed  between  him  and  Rose 
was  likely  to  be  the  very  hardest  obstacle  in  the 
way  of  his  love,  took  care  to  keep  his  private 
opinions  well  in  the  background ;  and  instead  of 
trying  to  convert  the  folk  at  the  mill,  daily  bought 
milk  or  flour  from  them,  and  gave  it  away  to  the 
old  women  in  Moorwinstow  (who  agreed  that  after 
all,  for  a  Papist,  he  was  a  godly  young  man 
enough) ;  and  at  last,  having  taken  counsel  with 
Campian  and  Parsons  on  certain  political  plots 
then  on  foot,  came  with  them  to  the  conclusion 
that  they  would  all  three  go  to  church  the  next 
Sunday.  Where  Messrs.  Evan  Morgans  and 
Morgan  Evans,  having  crammed  up  the  rubrics 
beforehand,  behaved  themselves  in  a  most  ortho- 
dox and  unexceptionable  manner ;  as  did  also  poor 
Eustace,  to  the  great  wonder  of  all  good  folks, 
and  then  went  home  flattering  himself  that  he 
had  taken  in  parson,  clerk,  and  people ;  not  know- 
ing in  his  simple  unsimplicity,  and  cunning  fool- 
ishness, that  each  good  wife  in  the  parish  was 


Two  Ways  of  Being  Crost  in  Love     i  o  I 

saying  to  the  other,  "  He  turned  Protestant  ?  The 
devil  turned  monk!  He's  only  after  Mistress 
Salterne,  the  young  hypocrite. " 

But  if  the  two  Jesuits  found  it  expedient,  for 
the  holy  cause  in  which  they  were  embarked,  to 
reconcile  themselves  outwardly  to  the  powers  that 
were,  they  were  none  the  less  busy  in  private  in 
plotting  their  overthrow. 

Ever  since  April  last  they  had  been  playing  at 
hide-and-seek  through  the  length  and  breadth  of 
England,  and  now  they  were  only  lying  quiet 
till  expected  news  from  Ireland  should  give  them 
their  cue,  and  a  great  "rising  of  the  West" 
should  sweep  from  her  throne  that  stiff-necked, 
persecuting,  excommunicate,  reprobate,  illegiti- 
mate, and  profligate  usurper,  who  falsely  called 
herself  the  Queen  of  England. 

For  they  had  as  stoutly  persuaded  themselves 
in  those  days,  as  they  have  in  these  (with  a  real 
Baconian  contempt  of  the  results  of  sensible 
experience),  that  the  heart  of  England  was  really 
with  them,  and  that  the  British  nation  was  on  the 
point  of  returning  to  the  bosom  of  the  Catholic 
Church,  and  giving  up  Elizabeth  to  be  led  in 
chains  to  the  feet  of  the  rightful  Lord  of  Creation, 
the  Old  Man  of  the  Seven  Hills.  And  this  fair 
hope,  which  has  been  skipping  just  in  front  of 
them  for  centuries,  always  a  step  farther  off,  like 
the  place  where  the  rainbow  touches  the  ground, 
they  used  to  announce  at  times,  in  language  which 
terrified  old  Mr.  Leigh.  One  day,  indeed,  as 
Eustace  entered  his  father's  private  room,  after 
his  usual  visit  to  the  mill,  he  could  hear  voices 
high  in  dispute;  Parsons  as  usual,  blustering; 
Mr.  Leigh  peevishly  deprecating,  and  Campian, 


io2  Westward  Ho ! 

who  was  really  the  sweetest-natured  of  men,  try- 
ing to  pour  oil  on  the  troubled  waters.  Whereat 
Eustace  (for  the  good  of  the  cause,  of  course) 
stopped  outside  and  listened. 
C>  "My  excellent  sir,"  said  Mr.  Leigh,  "does  not 
your  very  presence  here  show  how  I  am  affected 
toward  the  holy  cause  of  the  Catholic  faith?  But 
I  cannot  in  the  meanwhile  forget  that  I  am  an 
Englishman." 

"  And  what  is  England  ?  "  said  Parsons :  "  A 
heretic  and  schismatic  Babylon,  whereof  it  is 
written,  '  Come  out  of  her,  my  people,  lest  you  be 
partaker  of  her  plagues. '  Yea,  what  is  a  country  ? 
An  arbitrary  division  of  territory  by  the  princes 
of  this  world,  who  are  naught,  and  come  to 
naught.  They  are  created  by  the  people's  will; 
their  existence  depends  on  the  sanction  of  him  to 
whom  all  power  is  given  in  heaven  and  earth  — 
our  Holy  Father  the  Pope.  Take  away  the  latter, 
and  what  is  a  king  ?  —  the  people  who  have  made 
him  may  unmake  him." 

"My  dear  sir,  recollect  that  I  have  sworn 
allegiance  to  Queen  Elizabeth  !  " 

"Yes,  sir,  you  have,  sir;  and,  as  I  have  shown 
at  large  in  my  writings,  you  were  absolved  from 
that  allegiance  from  the  moment  that  the  bull  of 
Pius  the  Fifth  declared  her  a  heretic  and  excom- 
municate, and  thereby  to  have  forfeited  all 
dominion  whatsoever.  I  tell  you,  sir,  what  I 
thought  you  should  have  known  already,  that 
since  the  year  1569,  England  has  had  no  queen, 
no  magistrates,  no  laws,  no  lawful  authority 
whatsoever;  and  that  to  own  allegiance  to  any 
English  magistrate,  sir,  or  to  plead  in  an  English 
court  of  law,  is  to  disobey  the  apostolic  precept, 


Two  Ways  of  Being  Crost  in  Love     103 

'  How  dare  you  go  to  law  before  the  unbelievers  ? ' 
I  tell  you,  sir,  rebellion  is  now  not  merely  per- 
mitted, it  is  a  duty." 

"Take  care,  sir;  for  God's  sake,  take  care!" 
said  Mr.  Leigh.  "Right  or  wrong,  I  cannot 
have  such  language  used  in  my  house.  For  the 
sake  of  my  wife  and  children,  I  cannot!" 

"My  dear  brother  Parsons,  deal  more  gently 
with  the  flock,"  interposed  Campian.  "Your 
opinion,  though  probable,  as  I  well  know,  in  the 
eyes  of  most  of  our  order,  is  hardly  safe  enough 
here;  the  opposite  is  at  least  so  safe  that  Mr. 
Leigh  may  well  excuse  his  conscience  for  accept- 
ing it.  After  all,  are  we  not  sent  hither  to  pro- 
claim this  very  thing,  and  to  relieve  the  souls 
of  good  Catholics  from  a  burden  which  has  seemed 
to  them  too  heavy  ? " 

"Yes,"  said  Parsons,  half-sulkily,  "to  allow  all 
Balaams  who  will  to  sacrifice  to  Baal,  while  they 
call  themselves  by  the  name  of  the  Lord. " 

"My  dear  brother,  have  I  not  often  reminded 
you  that  Naaman  was  allowed  to  bow  himself  in 
the  house  of  Rimmon?  And  can  we  therefore 
complain  of  the  office  to  which  the  Holy  Father 
has  appointed  us,  to  declare  to  such  as  Mr.  Leigh 
his  especial  grace,  by  which  the  bull  of  Pius  the 
Fifth  (on  whose  soul  God  have  mercy!)  shall 
henceforth  bind  the  queen  and  the  heretics  only; 
but  in  no  ways  the  Catholics,  at  least  as  long  as 
the  present  tyranny  prevents  the  pious  purposes 
of  the  bull?" 

"Be  it  so,  sir;  be  it  so.  Only  observe  this, 
Mr.  Leigh,  that  our  brother  Campian  confesses 
this  to  be  a  tyranny.  Observe,  sir,  that  the  bull 
does  still  bind  the  so-called  queen,  and  that  she 


1 04  Westward  Ho  ! 

and  her  magistrates  are  still  none  the  less  usurpers, 
nonentities,  and  shadows  of  a  shade.  And  observe 
this,  sir,  that  when  that  which  is  lawful  is 
excused  to  the  weak,  it  remains  no  less  lawful  to 
the  strong.  The  seven  thousand  who  had  not 
bowed  the  knee  to  Baal  did  not  slay  his  priests; 
but  Elijah  did,  and  won  to  himself  a  good  reward. 
And  if  the  rest  of  the  children  of  Israel  sinned 
not  in  not  slaying  Eglon,  yet  Ehud's  deed  was 
none  the  less  justified  by  all  laws  human  and 
divine." 

"For  Heaven's  sake,  do  not  talk  so,  sir!  or  I 
must  leave  the  room.  What  have  I  to  do  with 
Ehud  and  Eglon,  and  slaughters,  and  tyrannies? 
Our  queen  is  a  very  good  queen,  if  Heaven  would 
but  grant  her  repentance,  and  turn  her  to  the  true 
faith.  I  have  never  been  troubled  about  religion, 
nor  any  one  else  that  I  know  of  in  the  West 
country. " 

"You  forget  Mr.  Trudgeon  of  Launceston, 
father,  and  poor  Father  Mayne,"  interposed 
Eustace,  who  had  by  this  time  slipped  in;  and 
Campian  added  softly  — 

"Yes,  your  West  of  England  also  has  been 
honored  by  its  martyrs,  as  well  as  my  London 
by  the  precious  blood  of  Story." 

"  What,  young  malapert  ?  "  cried  poor  Leigh, 
facing  round  upon  his  son,  glad  to  find  any  one 
on  whom  he  might  vent  his  ill-humor;  "are  you 
too  against  me,  with  a  murrain  on  you?  And 
pray,  what  the  devil  brought  Cuthbert  Mayne  to 
the  gallows,  and  turned  Mr.  Trudgeon  (he  was 
always  a  foolish  hot-head)  out  of  house  and  home, 
but  just  such  treasonable  talk  as  Mr.  Parsons 
must  needs  hold  in  my  house,  to  make  a  beggar 


Two  Ways  of  Being  Crost  in  Love     105 

of  me  and  my  children,  as  he  will  before  he  has 
done." 

"  The  Blessed  Virgin  forbid ! "  said  Campian. 

"The  Blessed  Virgin  forbid?  But  you  must 
help  her  to  forbid  it,  Mr.  Campian.  We  should 
never  have  had  the  law  of  1571,  against  bulls, 
and  Agnus  Deis,  and  blessed  grains,  if  the  Pope's 
bull  of  1 569  had  not  made  them  matter  of  treason, 
by  preventing  a  poor  creature's  saving  his  soul  in 
the  true  Church  without  putting  his  neck  into  a 
halter  by  denying  the  queen's  authority." 
(^  "What,  sir?"  almost  roared  Parsons,  "do  you 
faare  to  speak  evil  of  the  edicts  of  the  Vicar  of 
'Christ  ?" 

"I?  No.  I  did  n't.  Who  says  I  did?  All  I 
meant  was,  I  am  sure  —  Mr.  Campian,  you  are  a 
reasonable  man,  speak  for  me." 

"Mr.  Leigh  only  meant,  I  am  sure,  that  the 
Holy  Father's  prudent  intentions  have  been  so 
far  defeated  by  the  perverseness  and  invincible 
misunderstanding  of  the  heretics,  that  that  which 
was  in  itself  meant  for  the  good  of  the  oppressed 
English  Catholics  has  been  perverted  to  their 
harm." 

"And  thus,  reverend  sir,"  said  Eustace,  glad 
to  get  into  his  father's  good  graces  again,  "my 
father  attaches  blame,  not  to  the  Pope  —  Heaven 
forbid !  —  but  to  the  pravity  of  his  enemies. " 

"And  it  is  for  this  very  reason,"  said  Campian, 
"  that  we  have  brought  with  us  the  present  merci- 
ful explanation  of  the  bull." 

"I'll  tell  you  what,  gentlemen,"  said  Mr. 
Leigh,  who,  like  other  weak  men,  grew  in  valor 
as  his  opponent  seemed  inclined  to  make  peace, 
"  I  don't  think  the  declaration  was  needed.  After 


1 06  Westward  Ho  ! 

the  new  law  of  1571  was  made,  it  was  never  put 
in  force  till  Mayne  and  Trudgeon  made  fools  of 
themselves,  and  that  was  full  six  years.  There 
were  a  few  offenders,  they  say,  who  were  brought 
up  and  admonished,  and  let  go ;  but  even  that  did 
not  happen  down  here,  and  need  not  happen  now, 
unless  you  put  my  son  here  (for  you  shall  never  put 
me,  I  warrant  you)  upon  some  deed  which  had  bet- 
ter be  left  alone,  and  so  bring  us  all  to  shame." 

"Your  son,  sir,  if  not  openly  vowed  to  God, 
has,  I  hope,  a  due  sense  of  that  inward  vocation 
which  we  have  seen  in  him,  and  reverences  his 
spiritual  fathers  too  well  to  listen  to  the  tempta- 
tions of  his  earthly  father." 

"  What,  sir,  will  you  teach  my  son  to  disobey 
me?" 

"Your  son  is  ours  also,  sir.  This  is  strange 
language  in  one  who  owes  a  debt  to  the  Church, 
which  it  was  charitably  fancied  he  meant  to  pay 
in  the  person  of  his  child." 

These  last  words  touched  poor  Mr.  Leigh  in  a 
sore  point,  and  breaking  all  bounds,  he  swore 
roundly  at  Parsons,  who  stood  foaming  with  rage. 

"  A  plague  upon  you,  sir,  and  a  black  assizes 
for  you,  for  you  will  come  to  the  gallows  yet !  Do 
you  mean  to  taunt  me  in  my  own  house  with  that 
Hartland  land  ?  You  had  better  go  back  and  ask 
those  who  sent  you  where  the  dispensation  to 
hold  the  land  is,  which  they  promised  to  get  me 
years  ago,  and  have  gone  on  putting  me  off,  till 
they  have  got  my  money,  and  my  son,  and  my 
conscience,  and  I  vow  before  all  the  saints,  seem 
now  to  want  my  head  over  and  above.  God  help 
me!  "  —  and  the  poor  man's  eyes  fairly  filled  with 
tears. 


Two  Ways  of  Being  Crost  in  Love     1 07 

Now  was  Eustace's  turn  to  be  roused ;  for,  after 
all,  he  was  an  Englishman  and  a  gentleman;  and 
he  said  kindly  enough,  but  firmly  — 

"  Courage,  my  dearest  father.  Remember  that 
I  am  still  your  son,  and  not  a  Jesuit  yet;  and 
whether  I  ever  become  one,  I  promise  you,  will 
depend  mainly  on  the  treatment  which  you  meet 
with  at  the  hands  of  these  reverend  gentlemen, 
for  whom  I,  as  having  brought  them  hither,  must 
consider  myself  as  surety  to  you. " 

If  a  powder-barrel  had  exploded  in  the  Jesuits' 
faces,  they  could  not  have  been  more  amazed. 
Campian  looked  blank  at  Parsons,  and  Parsons  at 
Campian;  till  the  stouter-hearted  of  the  two, 
recovering  his  breath  at  last  — 

"  Sir !  do  you  know,  sir,  the  curse  pronounced 
on  those  who,  after  putting  their  hand  to  the 
plough,  look  back  ?  " 

Eustace  was  one  of  those  impulsive  men,  with 
a  lack  of  moral  courage,  who  dare  raise  the  devil, 
but  never  dare  fight  him  after  he  has  been  raised; 
and  he  now  tried  to  pass  off  his  speech  by  wink- 
ing and  making  signs  in  the  direction  of  his 
father,  as  much  as  to  say  that  he  was  only  trying 
to  quiet  the  old  man's  fears.  But  Campian  was 
too  frightened,  Parsons  too  angry,  to  take  his 
hints:  and  he  had  to  carry  his  part  through. 

"All  I  read  is,  Father  Parsons,  that  such  are 
not  fit  for  the  kingdom  of  God;  of  which  high 
honor  I  have  for  some  time  past  felt  myself  un- 
worthy. I  have  nr.ich  doubt  just  now  as  to  my 
vocation ;  and  in  the  meanwhile  have  not  forgotten 
that  I  am  a  citizen  of  a  free  country. "  And  so 
saying,  he  took  his  father's  arm,  and  walked  out. 

His  last  words  had  hit  the  Jesuits  hard.     They 


io8  Westward  Ho! 

had  put  the  poor  cobweb- spinners  in  mind  of  the 
humiliating  fact,  which  they  have  had  thrust  on 
them  daily  from  that  time  till  now,  and  yet  have 
never  learnt  the  lesson,  that  all  their  scholastic 
cunning,  plotting,  intriguing,  bulls,  pardons, 
indulgences,  and  the  rest  of  it,  are,  on  this  side 
the  Channel,  a  mere  enchanter's  cloud-castle  and 
Fata  Morgana,  which  vanishes  into  empty  air  by 
one  touch  of  that  magic  wand,  the  constable's 
staff.  "  A  citizen  of  a  free  country ! "  —  there  was 
the  rub;  and  they  looked  at  each  other  in  more 
utter  perplexity  than  ever.  At  last  Parsons 
spoke. 

"There  's  a  woman  in  the  wind.  I  '11  lay  my 
life  on  it.  I  saw  him  blush  up  crimson  yesterday 
when  his  mother  asked  him  whether  some  Rose 
Salterne  or  other  was  still  in  the  neighborhood. " 

"  A  woman !  Well,  the  spirit  may  be  willing, 
though  the  flesh  be  weak.  We  will  inquire  into 
this.  The  youth  may  do  us  good  service  as  a 
layman;  and  if  anything  should  happen  to  his 
elder  brother  (whom  the  saints  protect ! )  he  is 
heir  to  some  wealth.  In  the  meanwhile,  our  dear 
brother  Parsons  will  perhaps  see  the  expediency 
of  altering  our  tactics  somewhat  while  we  are 
here." 

And  thereupon  a  long  conversation  began  be- 
tween the  two,  who  had  been  sent  together,  after 
the  wise  method  of  their  order,  in  obedience  to 
the  precept,  "Two  are  better  than  one,"  in  order 
that  Campian  might  restrain  Parsons'  vehemence, 
and  Parsons  spur  on  Campian' s  gentleness,  and 
so  each  act  as  the  supplement  of  the  other,  and 
each  also,  it  must  be  confessed,  gave  advice  pretty 
nearly  contradictory  to  his  fellow's  if  occasion 


Two  Ways  of  Being  Crost  in  Love     1 09 

should  require,  "without  the  danger,"  as  their 
writers  have  it,  "of  seeming  changeable  and 
inconsistent. " 

The  upshot  of  this  conversation  was,  that  in  a 
day  or  two  (during  which  time  Mr.  Leigh  and 
Eustace  also  had  made  the  amende  honorable,  and 
matters  went  smoothly  enough)  Father  Campian 
asked  Father  Francis,  the  household  chaplain,  to 
allow  him,  as  an  especial  favor,  to  hear  Eustace's 
usual  confession  on  the  ensuing  Friday. 

Poor  Father  Francis  dared  not  refuse  so  great 
a  man ;  and  assented  with  an  inward  groan,  know- 
ing well  that  the  intent  was  to  worm  out  some 
family  secrets,  whereby  his  power  would  be 
diminished,  and  the  Jesuits'  increased.  For 
the  regular  priesthood  and  the  Jesuits  throughout 
England  were  toward  each  other  in  a  state  of 
armed  neutrality,  which  wanted  but  little  at  any 
moment  to  become  open  war,  as  it  did  in  James 
the  First's  time,  when  those  meek  missionaries, 
by  their  gentle  moral  tortures,  literally  hunted  to 
death  the  poor  Popish  bishop  of  Hippopotamus 
(that  is  to  say,  London)  for  the  time  being. 

However,  Campian  heard  Eustace's  confession; 
and  by  putting  to  him  such  questions  as  may  be 
easily  conceived  by  those  who  know  anything 
about  the  confessional,  discovered  satisfactorily 
enough,  that  he  was  what  Campian  would  have 
called  "  in  love : "  though  I  should  question  much 
the  propriety  of  the  term  as  applied  to  any  facts 
which  poor  prurient  Campian  discovered,  or  in- 
deed knew  how  to  discover,  seeing  that  a  swine 
has  no  eye  for  pearls.  But  he  had  found  out 
enough :  he  smiled,  and  set  to  work  next  vigor- 
ously to  discover  who  the  lady  might  be. 


no  Westward  Ho ! 

If  he  had  frankly  said  to  Eustace,  "  I  feel  for 
you ;  and  if  your  desires  are  reasonable,  or  lawful, 
or  possible,  I  will  help  you  with  all  my  heart  and 
soul,"  he  might  have  had  the  young  man's  secret 
heart,  and  saved  himself  an  hour's  trouble;  but, 
of  course,  he  took  instinctively  the  crooked  and 
suspicious  method,  expected  to  find  the  case  the 
worst  possible,  —  as  a  man  was  bound  to  do  who 
had  been  trained  to  take  the  lowest  possible  view 
of  human  nature,  and  to  consider  the  basest 
motives  as  the  mainspring  of  all  human  action,  — 
and  began  his  moral  torture  accordingly  by  a 
series  of  delicate  questions,  which  poor  Eustace 
dodged  in  every  possible  way,  though  he  knew 
that  the  good  father  was  too  cunning  for  him, 
and  that  he  must  give  in  at  last.  Nevertheless, 
like  a  rabbit  who  runs  squealing  round  and  round 
before  the  weasel,  into  whose  jaws  it  knows  that 
it  must  jump  at  last  by  force  of  fascination,  he 
parried  and  parried,  and  pretended  to  be  stupid, 
and  surprised,  and  honorably  scrupulous,  and 
even  angry;  while  every  question  as  to  her  being 
married  or  single,  Catholic  or  heretic,  English 
or  foreign,  brought  his  tormentor  a  step  nearer 
the  goal.  At  last,  when  Campian,  finding  the 
business  not  such  a  very  bad  one,  had  asked 
something  about  her  worldly  wealth,  Eustace 
saw  a  door  of  escape  and  sprang  at  it. 

"Even  if  she  be  a  heretic,  she  is  heiress  to 
one  of  the  wealthiest  merchants  in  Devon." 

"  Ah  ! "  said  Campian,  thoughtfully.  "  And  she 
is  but  eighteen,  you  say  ? " 

"  Only  eighteen. " 

"  Ah  !  well,  my  son,  there  is  time.  She  may  be 
reconciled  to  the  Church :  or  you  may  change. " 


Two  Ways  of  Being  Crost  in  Love     1 1 1 

"I  shall  die  first." 

"  Ah,  poor  lad !  Well ;  she  may  be  reconciled, 
and  her  wealth  may  be  of  use  to  the  cause  of 
Heaven." 

"And  it  shall  be  of  use.  Only  absolve  me, 
and  let  me  be  at  peace.  Let  me  have  but  her," 
he  cried  piteously.  "  I  do  not  want  her  wealth, 

—  not  I !     Let  me  have  but  her,  and  that  but  for 
one  year,  one  month,  one  day!  —  and  all  the  rest 

—  money,  fame,  talents,  yea,  my  life  itself,  hers 
if   it   be  needed  —  are  at  the  service  of   Holy 
Church.     Ay,  I  shall  glory  in  showing  my  devo- 
tion by  some  special  sacrifice,  —  some  desperate 
deed.     Prove  me  now,  and  see  what  there  is  I 
will  not  do!" 

And  so  Eustace  was  absolved;  after  which 
Campian  added,  — 

"This  is  indeed  well,  my  son:  for  there  is  a 
thing  to  be  done  now,  but  it  may  be  at  the  risk 
of  life." 

"  Prove  me ! "  cried  Eustace,  impatiently. 

"Here  is  a  letter  which  was  brought  me  last 
night;  no  matter  from  whence;  you  can  under- 
stand it  better  than  I,  and  I  longed  to  have  shown 
it  you,  but  that  I  feared  my  son  had  become " 

"You  feared  wrongly,  then,  my  dear  Father 
Campian." 

So  Campian  translated  to  him  the  cipher  of  the 
letter. 

"This  to  Evan  Morgans,  gentleman,  at  Mr. 
Leigh's  house  in  Moorwinstow,  Devonshire. 
News  may  be  had  by  one  who  will  go  to  the 
shore  of  Clovelly,  any  evening  after  the  25th  of 
November,  at  dead  low  tide,  and  there  watch  for 
a  boat,  rowed  by  one  with  a  red  beard,  and  a 


112  Westward  Ho ! 

Portugal  by  his  speech.  If  he  be  asked,  '  How 
many  ? '  he  will  answer,  '  Eight  hundred  and  one. ' 
Take  his  letters  and  read  them.  If  the  shore  be 
watched,  let  him  who  comes  show  a  light  three 
times  in  a  safe  place  under  the  cliff  above  the 
town;  below  is  dangerous  landing.  Farewell, 
and  expect  great  things ! " 

"I  will  go,"  said  Eustace;  "to-morrow  is  the 
25th,  and  I  know  a  sure  and  easy  place.  Your 
friend  seems  to  know  these  shores  well." 

"  Ah !  what  is  it  we  do  not  know  ? "  said  Cam- 
pian,  with  a  mysterious  smile.  "  And  now  ?  " 

"  And  now,  to  prove  to  you  how  I  trust  to  you, 
you  shall  come  with  me,  and  see  this  —  the  lady 
of  whom  I  spoke,  and  judge  for  yourself  whether 
my  fault  is  not  a  venial  one. " 

"Ah,  my  son,  have  I  not  absolved  you  already? 
What  have  I  to  do  with  fair  faces?  Neverthe- 
less, I  will  come,  both  to  show  you  that  I  trust 
you,  and  it  may  be  to  help  towards  reclaiming  a 
heretic,  and  saving  a  lost  soul :  who  knows  ?  " 

So  the  two  set  out  together;  and,  as  it  was 
appointed,  they  had  just  got  to  the  top  of  the  hill 
between  Chapel  and  Stow  mill,  when  up  the  lane 
came  none  other  than  Mistress  Rose  Salterne 
herself,  in  all  the  glories  of  a  new  scarlet  hood, 
from  under  which  her  large  dark  languid  eyes 
gleamed  soft  lightnings  through  poor  Eustace's 
heart  and  marrow.  Up  to  them  she  tripped  on 
delicate  ankles  and  tiny  feet,  tall,  lithe,  and 
graceful,  a  true  West-country  lass;  and  as  she 
passed  them  with  a  pretty  blush  and  courtesy, 
even  Campian  looked  back  at  the  fair  innocent 
creature,  whose  long  dark  curls,  after  the  then 
country  fashion,  rolled  down  from  beneath  the 


"Two  Ways  of  Being  Crost  in  Love     113 

hood  below  her  waist,  entangling  the  soul  of 
Eustace  Leigh  within  their  glossy  nets. 

"  There ! "  whispered  he,  trembling  from  head 
to  foot.  "  Can  you  excuse  me  now?  " 

"  I  had  excused  you  long  ago, "  said  the  kind- 
hearted  father.  "  Alas,  that  so  much  fair  red  and 
white  should  have  been  created  only  as  a  feast  for 
worms ! " 

"  A  feast  for  gods,  you  mean ! "  cried  Eustace, 
on  whose  common  sense  the  naive  absurdity  of 
the  last  speech  struck  keenly;  and  then,  as  if  to 
escape  the  scolding  which  he  deserved  for  his 
heathenry  — 

"  Will  you  let  me  return  for  a  moment  ?  I  will 
follow  you :  let  me  go ! " 

Campian  saw  that  it  was  of  no  use  to  say  no, 
and  nodded.  Eustace  darted  from  his  side,  and 
running  across  a  field,  met  Rose  full  at  the  next 
turn  of  the  road. 

She  started,  and  gave  a  pretty  little  shriek. 

"Mr.  Leigh!  I  thought  you  had  gone  for- 
ward." 

"  I  came  back  to  speak  to  you,  Rose  —  Mistress 
Salterne,  I  mean." 

"Tome?" 

"To  you  I  must  speak,  tell  you  all,  or  die!" 
And  he  pressed  up  close  to  her.  She  shrank 
back,  somewhat  frightened. 

"Do  not  stir;  do  not  go,  I  implore  you !  Rose, 
only  hear  me!"  And  fiercely  and  passionately 
seizing  her  by  the  hand,  he  poured  out  the  whole 
story  of  his  love,  heaping  her  with  every  fantastic 
epithet  of  admiration  which  he  could  devise. 

There  was  little,  perhaps,  of  all  his  words 
which  Rose  had  not  heard  many  a  time  before; 

Vol.  8-<J 


114  Westward  Ho! 

but  there  was  a  quiver  in  his  voice,  and  a  fire  in 
his  eye,  from  which  she  shrank  by  instinct. 

"  Let  me  go ! "  she  said ;  "  you  are  too  rough, 
sir!" 

"Ay!"  he  said,  seizing  now  both  her  hands, 
"  rougher,  perhaps,  than  the  gay  gallants  of  Bide- 
ford,  who  serenade  you,  and  write  sonnets  to  you, 
and  send  you  posies.  Rougher,  but  more  loving, 
Rose!  Do  not  turn  away!  I  shall  die  if  you 
take  your  eyes  off  me!  Tell  me,  — tell  me,  now 
here  —  this  moment  —  before  we  part  —  if  I  may 
love  you! " 

"  Go  away ! "  she  answered,  struggling,  and 
bursting  into  tears.  "  This  is  too  rude.  If  I  am 
but  a  merchant's  daughter,  I  am  God's  child. 
Remember  that  I  am  alone.  Leave  me;  go!  or 
I  will  call  for  help!" 

Eustace  had  heard  or  read  somewhere  that  such 
expressions  in  a  woman's  mouth  were  merefafons 
de  parler,  and  on  the  whole  signs  that  she  had  no 
objection  to  be  alone,  and  did  not  intend  to  call 
for  help ;  and  he  only  grasped  her  hands  the  more 
fiercely,  and  looked  into  her  face  with  keen  and 
hungry  eyes ;  but  she  was  in  earnest,  nevertheless, 
and  a  loud  shriek  made  him  aware  that,  if  he 
wished  to  save  his  own  good  name,  he  must  go : 
but  there  was  one  question,  for  an  answer  to 
which  he  would  risk  his  very  life. 

"Yes,  proud  woman!,!  thought  so!  Some  one 
of  those  gay  gallants  has  been  beforehand  with 
me.  Tell  me  who " 

But  she  broke  from  him,  and  passed  him,  and 
fled  down  the  lane. 

"Mark  it!"  cried  he,  after  her.  "You  shall 
rue  the  day  when  you  despised  Eustace  Leigh! 


Two  Ways  of  Being  Crost  in  Love     115 

Mark  it,  proud  beauty !  "  And  he  turned  back  to 
join  Campian,  who  stood  in  some  trepidation. 

"You  have  not  hurt  the  maiden,  my  son?  I 
thought  I  heard  a  scream." 

"Hurt  her!  No.  Would  God  that  she  were 
dead,  nevertheless,  and  I  by  her!  Say  no  more 
tome,  father.  We  will  home."  Even  Campian 
knew  enough  of  the  world  to  guess  what  had  hap- 
pened, and  they  both  hurried  home  in  silence. 

And  so  Eustace  Leigh  played  his  move,  and 
lost  it. 

Poor  little  Rose,  having  run  nearly  to  Chapel, 
stopped  for  very  shame,  and  walked  quietly  by 
the  cottages  which  stood  opposite  the  gate,  and 
then  turned  up  the  lane  towards  Moorwinstow 
village,  whither  she  was  bound.  But  on  second 
thoughts,  she  felt  herself  so  "red  and  flustered," 
that  she  was  afraid  of  going  into  the  village,  for 
fear  (as  she  said  to  herself)  of  making  people  talk, 
and  so,  turning  into  a  by-path,  struck  away  toward 
the  cliffs,  to  cool  her  blushes  in  the  sea-breeze. 
And  there  finding  a  quiet  grassy  nook  beneath 
the  crest  of  the  rocks,  she  sat  down  on  the  turf, 
and  fell  into  a  great  meditation. 

Rose  Salterne  was  a  thorough  specimen  of  a 
West-coast  maiden,  full  of  passionate  impulsive 
affections,  and  wild  dreamy  imaginations,  a  fit 
subject,  as  the  North-Devon  women  are  still,  for 
all  romantic  and  gentle  superstitions.  Left  early 
without  a  mother's  care,  she  had  fed  her  fancy 
upon  the  legends  and  ballads  of  her  native  land, 
till  she  believed  —  what  did  she  not  believe?  —  of 
mermaids  and  pixies,  charms  and  witches,  dreams 
and  omens,  and  all  that  world  of  magic  in  which 
most  of  the  countrywomen,  and  countrymen  too, 


1 1 6  Westward  Ho! 

believed  firmly  enough  but  twenty  years  ago. 
Then  her  father's  house  was  seldom  without  some 
merchant,  or  sea-captain  from  foreign  parts,  who, 
like  Othello,  had  his  tales  of  — 

"  Antres  vast,  and  deserts  idle, 

Of  rough  quarries,   rocks,   and  hills    whose  heads  reach 
heaven." 

And,  — 

"  And  of  the  cannibals  that  each  other  eat, 
The  anthropophagi,  and  men  whose  heads 
Do  grow  beneath  their  shoulders." 

All  which  tales,  she,  like  Desdemona,  devoured 
with  greedy  ears,  whenever  she  could  "  the  house 
affairs  with  haste  despatch."  And  when  these 
failed,  there  was  still  boundless  store  of  wonders 
open  to  her  in  old  romances  which  were  then  to 
be  found  in  every  English  house  of  the  better 
class.  The  Legend  of  King  Arthur,  Florice  and 
Blancheflour,  Sir  Ysumbras,  Sir  Guy  of  War- 
wick, Palamon  and  Arcite,  and  the  Romaunt  of 
the  Rose,  were  with  her  text-books  and  canonical 
authorities.  And  lucky  it  was,  perhaps,  for  her 
that  Sidney's  Arcadia  was  still  in  petto,  or  Mr. 
Frank  (who  had  already  seen  the  first  book  or  two 
in  manuscript,  and  extolled  it  above  all  books 
past,  present,  or  to  come)  would  have  surely 
brought  a  copy  down  for  Rose,  and  thereby  have 
turned  her  poor  little  flighty  brains  upside  down 
forever.  And  with  her  head  full  of  these,  it 
was  no  wonder  if  she  had  likened  herself  of  late 
more  than  once  to  some  of  those  peerless  prin- 
cesses of  old,  for  whose  fair  hand  paladins  and 
kaisers  thundered  against  each  other  in  tilted 
field ;  and  perhaps  she  would  not  have  been  sorry 


Two  Ways  of  Being  Crost  in  Love     117 

(provided,  of  course,  no  one  was  killed)  if  duels, 
and  passages  of  arms  in  honor  of  her,  as  her 
father  reasonably  dreaded,  had  actually  taken 
place. 

For  Rose  was  not  only  well  aware  that  she  was 
wooed,  but  found  the  said  wooing  (and  little 
shame  to  her)  a  very  pleasant  process.  Not  that 
she  had  any  wish  to  break  hearts :  she  did  not  break 
her  heart  for  any  of  her  admirers,  and  why  should 
they  break  theirs  for  her?  They  were  all  very 
charming,  each  in  his  way  (the  gentlemen,  at 
least;  for  she  had  long  since  learnt  to  turn  up 
her  nose  at  merchants  and  burghers) ;  but  one  of 
them  was  not  so  very  much  better  than  the  other. 

Of  course,  Mr.  Frank  Leigh  was  the  most 
charming;  but  then,  as  a  courtier  and  squire  of 
dames,  he  had  never  given  her  a  sign  of  real  love, 
nothing  but  sonnets  and  compliments,  and  there 
was  no  trusting  such  things  from  a  gallant,  who 
was  said  (though,  by  the  by,  most  scandalously) 
to  have  a  lady  love  at  Milan,  and  another  at 
Vienna,  and  half-a-dozen  in  the  Court,  and  half- 
a-dozen  more  in  the  city. 

And  very  charming  was  Mr.  William  Gary, 
with  his  quips  and  his  jests,  and  his  galliards 
and  lavoltas ;  over  and  above  his  rich  inheritance ; 
but  then,  charming  also  Mr.  Coffin  of  Portledge, 
though  he  were  a  little  proud  and  stately;  but 
which  of  the  two  should  she  choose?  It  would 
be  very  pleasant  to  be  mistress  of  Clovelly  Court; 
but  just  as  pleasant  to  find  herself  lady  of  Port- 
ledge,  where  the  Coffins  had  lived  ever  since 
Noah's  flood  (if,  indeed,  they  had  not  merely 
returned  thither  after  that  temporary  displace- 
ment), and  to  bring  her  wealth  into  a  family 


1 1 8  Westward  Ho  ! 

which  was  as  proud  of  its  antiquity  as  any  noble- 
man in  Devon,  and  might  have  made  a  fourth  to 
that  famous  trio  of  Devonshire  Cs,  of  which  it  is 
written,  — 

"  Crocker,  Cniwys,  and  Copplestone, 
When  the  Conqueror  came  were  all  at  home." 

And  Mr.  Hugh  Fortescue,  too  —  people  said 
that  he  was  certain  to  become  a  great  soldier  — 
perhaps  as  great  as  his  brother  Arthur  —  and  that 
would  be  pleasant  enough,  too,  though  he  was  but 
the  younger  son  of  an  innumerable  family:  but 
then,  so  was  Amyas  Leigh.  Ah,  poor  Amyas! 
Her  girl's  fancy  for  him  had  vanished,  or  rather, 
perhaps,  it  was  very  much  what  it  always  had 
been,  only  that  four  or  five  more  girl's  fancies 
beside  it  had  entered  in,  and  kept  it  in  due  sub- 
jection. But  still,  she  could  not  help  thinking  a 
good  deal  about  him,  and  his  voyage,  and  the 
reports  of  his  great  strength,  and  beauty,  and 
valor,  which  had  already  reached  her  in  that 
out-of-the-way  corner;  and  though  she  was  not  in 
the  least  in  love  with  him,  she  could  not  help 
hoping  that  he  had  at  least  (to  put  her  pretty 
little  thought  in  the  mildest  shape)  not  alto- 
gether forgotten  her;  and  was  hungering,  too, 
with  all  her  fancy,  to  give  him  no  peace  till  he 
had  told  her  all  the  wonderful  things  which  he 
had  seen  and  done  in  this  ever-memorable  voy- 
age. So  that,  altogether,  it  was  no  wonder,  if  in 
her  last  night's  dream  the  figure  of  Amyas  had 
been  even  more  forward  and  troublesome  than 
that  of  Frank  or  the  rest. 

But,  moreover,  another  figure  had  been  forward 
and  troublesome  enough  in  last  night's  sleep- 


Two  Ways  of  Being  Crost  in  Love     1 1 9 

world ;  and  forward  and  troublesome  enough,  too, 
now  in  to-day's  waking-world,  namely,  Eustace, 
the  rejected.  How  strange  that  she  should  have 
dreamt  of  him  the  night  before !  and  dreamt,  too, 
of  his  fighting  with  Mr.  Frank  and  Mr.  Amyas ! 
It  must  be  a  warning  —  see,  she  had  met  him  the 
very  next  day  in  this  strange  way;  so  the  first 
half  of  her  dream  had  come  true ;  and  after  what 
had  past,  she  only  had  to  breathe  a  whisper,  and 
the  second  part  of  the  dream  would  come  true 
also.  If  she  wished  for  a  passage  of  arms  in  her 
own  honor,  she  could  easily  enough  compass 
one :  not  that  she  would  do  it  for  worlds !  And 
after  all,  though  Mr.  Eustace  had  been  very  rude 
and  naughty,  yet  still  it  was  not  his  own  fault; 
he  could  not  help  being  in  love  with  her.  And 
—  and,  in  short,  the  poor  little  maid  felt  herself 
one  of  the  most  important  personages  on  earth, 
with  all  the  cares  (or  hearts)  of  the  country  in  her 
keeping,  and  as  much  perplexed  with  matters  of 
weight  as  ever  was  any  Cleophila,  or  Dianeme, 
Fiordispina  or  Flourdeluce,  in  verse  run  tame,  or 
prose  run  mad. 

Poor  little  Rose !  Had  she  but  had  a  mother ! 
But  she  was  to  learn  her  lesson,  such  as  it  was, 
in  another  school.  She  was  too  shy  (too  proud 
perhaps)  to  tell  her  aunt  her  mighty  troubles; 
but  a  counsellor  she  must  have;  and  after  sitting 
with  her  head  in  her  hands,  for  half-an-hour  or 
more,  she  arose  suddenly,  and  started  off  along 
the  cliffs  towards  Marsland.  She  would  go  and 
see  Lucy  Passmore,  the  white  witch ;  Lucy  knew 
everything ;  Lucy  would  tell  her  what  to  do ;  per- 
haps even  whom  to  marry. 

Lucy  was  a  fat,  jolly  woman  of  fifty,  with  little 


1 20  Westward  Ho  ! 

pig-eyes,  which  twinkled  like  sparks  of  fire,  and 
eyebrows  which  sloped  upwards  and  outwards, 
like  those  of  a  satyr,  as  if  she  had  been  (as  indeed 
she  had)  all  her  life  looking  out  of  the  corners  of 
her  eyes.  Her  qualifications  as  white  witch  were 
boundless  cunning,  equally  boundless  good  nature, 
considerable  knowledge  of  human  weaknesses, 
some  mesmeric  power,  some  skill  in  "yarbs,"  as 
she  called  her  simples,  a  firm  faith  in  the  virtue 
of  her  own  incantations,  and  the  faculty  of  hold- 
ing her  tongue.  By  dint  of  these  she  contrived 
to  gain  a  fair  share  of  money,  and  also  (which 
she  liked  even  better)  of  power,  among  the  simple 
folk  for  many  miles  round.  If  a  child  was  scalded, 
a  tooth  ached,  a  piece  of  silver  was  stolen,  a  heifer 
shrew-struck,  a  pig  bewitched,  a  young  damsel 
crost  in  love,  Lucy  was  called  in,  and  Lucy  found 
a  remedy,  especially  for  the  latter  complaint. 
Now  and  then  she  found  herself  on  ticklish 
ground,  for  the  kind-heartedness  which  compelled 
her  to  help  all  distressed  damsels  out  of  a  scrape, 
sometimes  compelled  her  also  to  help  them  into 
one;  whereon  enraged  fathers  called  Lucy  ugly 
names,  and  threatened  to  send  her  into  Exeter 
gaol  for  a  witch,  and  she  smiled  quietly,  and 
hinted  that  if  she  were  "like  some  that  were 
ready  to  return  evil  for  evil,  such  talk  as  that 
would  bring  no  blessing  on  them  that  spoke  it ; " 
which  being  translated  into  plain  English,  meant, 
*  If  you  trouble  me,  I  will  overlook  (/.  e.  fasci- 
nate) you,  and  then  your  pigs  will  die,  your 
horses  stray,  your  cream  turn  sour,  your  barns 
be  fired,  your  son  have  St.  Vitus's  dance,  your 
daughter  fits,  and  so  on,  woe  on  woe,  till  you  are 
very  probably  starved  to  death  in  a  ditch,  by 


Two  Ways  of  Being  Crost  in  Love     i  2 1 

virtue  of  this  terrible  little  eye  of  mine,  at  which, 
in  spite  of  all  your  swearing  and  bullying,  you 
know  you  are  now  shaking  in  your  shoes  for  fear. 
So  you  had  much  better  hold  your  tongue,  give 
me  a  drink  of  cider,  and  leave  ill  alone,  lest  you 
make  it  worse." 

Not  that  Lucy  ever  proceeded  to  any  such  fear- 
ful extremities.  On  the  contrary,  her  boast,  and 
her  belief  too,  was,  that  she  was  sent  into  the 
world  to  make  poor  souls  as  happy  as  she  could, 
by  lawful  means,  of  course,  if  possible,  but  if  not 
—  why,  unlawful  ones  were  better  than  none;  for 
she  "  could  n't  a-bear  to  see  the  poor  creatures  tak- 
ing on;  she  was  too,  too  tender-hearted."  And 
so  she  was,  to  every  one  but  her  husband,  a  tall, 
simple-hearted  rabbit-faced  man,  a  good  deal 
older  than  herself.  Fully  agreeing  with  Sir 
Richard  Grenville's  great  axiom,  that  he  who  can- 
not obey  cannot  rule,  Lucy  had  been  for  the  last 
five-and-twenty  years  training  him  pretty  smartly 
to  obey  her,  with  the  intention,  it  is  to  be  chari- 
tably hoped,  of  letting  him  rule  her  in  turn  when 
his  lesson  was  perfected.  He  bore  his  honors, 
however,  meekly  enough,  having  a  boundless  re- 
spect for  his  wife's  wisdom,  and  a  firm  belief 
in  her  supernatural  powers,  and  let  her  go  her 
own  way  and  earn  her  own  money,  while  he  got  a 
little  more  in  a  truly  pastoral  method  (not  extinct 
yet  along  those  lonely  cliffs),  by  feeding  a  herd 
of  some  dozen  donkeys  and  twenty  goats.  The 
donkeys  fetched,  at  each  low-tide,  white  shell- 
sand  which  was  to  be  sold  for  manure  to  the 
neighboring  farmers;  the  goats  furnished  milk 
and  "kiddy-pies;"  and  when  there  was  neither 
milking  nor  sand-carrying  to  be  done,  old  Will 


122  Westward  Ho ! 

Passmore  just  sat  under  a  sunny  rock  and  watched 
the  buck-goats  rattle  their  horns  together,  think- 
ing about  nothing  at  all,  and  taking  very  good 
care  all  the  while  neither  to  inquire  nor  to  see 
who  came  in  and  out  of  his  little  cottage  in  the 
glen. 

The  prophetess,  when  Rose  approached  her 
oracular  cave,  was  seated  on  a  tripod  in  front  of 
the  fire,  distilling  strong  waters  out  of  penny- 
royal. But  no  sooner  did  her  distinguished  vis- 
itor appear  at  the  hatch,  than  the  still  was  left 
to  take  care  of  itself,  and  a  clean  apron  and 
mutch  having  been  slipt  on,  Lucy  welcomed 
Rose  with  endless  courtesies,  and  — <;  Bless  my 
dear  soul  alive,  who  ever  would  have  thought 
to  see  the  Rose  of  Torridge  to  my  poor  little 
place!" 

Rose  sat  down :  and  then  ?  How  to  begin  was 
more  than  she  knew,  and  she  stayed  silent  a  full 
five  minutes,  looking  earnestly  at  the  point  of  her 
shoe,  till  Lucy,  who  was  an  adept  in  such  cases, 
thought  it  best  to  proceed  to  business  at  once, 
and  save  Rose  the  delicate  operation  of  opening 
the  ball  herself;  and  so,  in  her  own  way,  half 
fawning,  half  familiar  — 

"Well,  my  dear  young  lady,  and  what  is  it  I 
can  do  for  ye  ?  For  I  guess  you  want  a  bit  of  old 
Lucy's  help,  eh?  Though  I'm  most  mazed  to 
see  ye  here,  surely.  I  should  have  supposed  that 
pretty  face  could  manage  they  sort  of  matters  for 
itself.  Eh?" 

Rose,  thus  bluntly  charged,  confessed  at  once, 
and  with  many  blushes  and  hesitations,  made  her 
soon  understand  that  what  she  wanted  was  "  To 
have  her  fortune  told." 


Two  Ways  of  Being  Crost  in  Love     123 

"  Eh  ?  Oh !  I  see.  The  pretty  face  has  man- 
aged  it  a  bit  too  well  already,  eh?  Tu  many 
o' mun,  pure  fellows?  Well,  't  ain't  every 
mayden  has  her  pick  and  choose,  like  some  I 
know  of,  as  be  blest  in  love  by  stars  above. 
So  you  hain't  made  up  your  mind,  then?" 

Rose  shook  her  head. 

"Ah  —  well,"  she  went  on,  in  a  half-bantering 
tone.  "Not  so  asy,  is  it,  then?  One's  gude  for 
one  thing,  and  one  for  another,  eh?  One  has  the 
blood,  and  another  the  money. " 

And  so  the  "  cunning  woman  "  (as  she  truly 
was),  talking  half  to  herself,  ran  over  all  the 
names  which  she  thought  likely,  peering  at  Rose 
all  the  while  out  of  the  corners  of  her  foxy  bright 
eyes,  while  Rose  stirred  the  peat  ashes  steadfastly 
with  the  point  of  her  little  shoe,  half  angry,  half 
ashamed,  half  frightened,  to  find  that  "the  cun- 
ning woman  "  had  guessed  so  well  both  her  suit- 
ors and  her  thoughts  about  them,  and  tried 
to  look  unconcerned  at  each  name  as  it  came 
out. 

"Well,  well,"  said  Lucy,  who  took  nothing  by 
her  move,  simply  because  there  was  nothing  to 
take;  "think  over  it  —  think  over  it,  my  dear 
life;  and  if  you  did  set  your  mind  on  any  one  — 
why,  then  —  then  maybe  I  might  help  you  to  a 
sight  of  him." 

"  A  sight  of  him  ?  " 

"His  sperrit,  dear  life,  his  sperrit  only,  I  mane. 
I  'udn't  have  no  keeping  company  in  my  house, 
no,  not  for  gowld  untowld,  I 'udn't;  but  the 
sperrit  of  mun  —  to  see  whether  mun  would  be 
true  or  not,  you  'd  like  to  know  that,  now,  'ud  n't 
you,  my  darling? " 


1 24  Westward  Ho  ! 

Rose  sighed,  and  stirred  the  ashes  about  vehe- 
mently. 

"I  must  first  know  who  it  is  to  be.  If  you 
could  show  me  that  —  now " 

"Oh,  I  can  show  ye  that,  tu,  I  can.  Ben 
there's  a  way  to  't,  a  sure  way;  but  'tis  mortal 
cold  for  the  time  o'  year,  you  zee." 

"  But  what  is  it,  then  ? "  said  Rose,  who  had  in 
her  heart  been  longing  for  something  of  that  very 
kind,  and  had  half  made  up  her  mind  to  ask  for  a 
charm. 

"Why,  you 'm  not  afraid  to  goo  into  the  say 
by  night  for  a  minute,  are  you?  And  to-morrow 
night  would  serve,  too;  'twill  be  just  low  tide  to 
midnight." 

"  If  you  would  come  with  me  perhaps " 

"I'll  come,  I'll  come,  and  stand  within  call, 
to  be  sure.  Only  do  ye  mind  this,  dear  soul 
alive,  not  to  goo  telling  a  crumb  about  mun,  noo, 
not  for  the  world,  or  yu  '11  see  naught  at  all, 
indeed,  now.  And  beside,  there 's  a  noxious 
business  grow'd  up  against  me  up  to  Chapel 
there;  and  I  hear  tell  how  Mr.  Leigh  saith  I 
shall  to  Exeter  gaol  for  a  witch  —  did  ye  ever 
hear  the  likes  ?  —  because  his  groom  Jan  saith 
I  overlooked  mun  —  the  Papist  dog !  And  now 
never  he  nor  th'  owld  Father  Francis  goo  by  me 
without  a  spetting,  and  saying  of  their  Aves  and 
Malificas  —  I  do  know  what  their  Rooman  Latin 
do  mane,  zo  well  as  ever  they,  I  du !  —  and  a 
making  o*  their  charms  and  incantations  to  their 
saints  and  idols!  They  be  mortal  feared  of 
witches,  they  Papists,  and  mortal  hard  on  'em, 
even  on  a  pure  body  like  me,  that  doth  a  bit  in 
the  white  way;  'case  why  you  see,  dear  life,** 


Two  Ways  of  Being  Crost  in  Love     1 25 

said  she,  with  one  of  her  humorous  twinkles,  "tu 
to  a  trade  do  never  agree.  Do  ye  try  my  bit  of 
a  charm,  now;  do  ye!" 

Rose  could  not  resist  the  temptation ;  and  be- 
tween them  both  the  charm  was  agreed  on,  and 
the  next  night  was  fixed  for  its  trial,  on  the 
payment  of  certain  current  coins  of  the  realm 
(for  Lucy,  of  course,  must  live  by  her  trade) ; 
and  slipping  a  tester  into  the  dame's  hand  as 
earnest,  Rose  went  away  home,  and  got  there  in 
safety. 

But  in  the  meanwhile,  at  the  very  hour  that 
Eustace  had  been  prosecuting  his  suit  in  the  lane 
at  Moorwinstow,  a  very  different  scene  was  being 
enacted  in  Mrs.  Leigh's  room  at  Burrough. 

For  the  night  before,  Amyas,  as  he  was  going  to 
bed,  heard  his  brother  Frank  in  the  next  room 
tune  his  lute,  and  then  begin  to  sing.  And  both 
their  windows  being  open,  and  only  a  thin  partition 
between  the  chambers,  Amyas's  admiring  ears 
came  in  for  every  word  of  the  following  canzonet, 
sung  in  that  delicate  and  mellow  tenor  voice  for 
which  Frank  was  famed  among  all  fair  ladies: — 

"  Ah,  tyrant  Love,  Megaera's  serpents  bearing, 
Why  thus  requite  my  sighs  with  venom'd  smart  ? 

Ah,  ruthless  dove,  the  vulture's  talons  wearing, 
Why  flesh  them,  traitress,  in  this  faithful  heart? 

Is  this  my  meed  ?    Must  dragons'  teeth  alone 

In  Venus'  lawns  by  lovers'  hands  be  sown  ? 

"  Nay,  gentlest  Cupid ;  't  was  my  pride  undid  me. 
Nay,  guiltless  dove ;  by  mine  own  wound  I  fell. 

To  worship,  not  to  wed,  Celestials  bid  me : 
I  dreamt  to  mate  in  heaven,  and  wake  in  hell  ; 

Forever  doom'd,  Ixion-like,  to  reel 

On  mine  own  passions'  ever-burning  wheel." 


1 26  Westward  Ho  ! 

At  which  the  simple  sailor  sighed,  and  longed 
that  he  could  write  such  neat  verses,  and  sing 
them  so  sweetly.  How  he  would  besiege  the  ear 
of  Rose  Salterne  with  amorous  ditties  !  But  still, 
he  could  not  be  everything;  and  if  he  had  the 
bone  and  muscle  of  the  family,  it  was  but  fair  that 
Frank  should  have  the  brains  and  voice ;  and,  after 
all,  he  was  bone  of  his  bone  and  flesh  of  his  flesh, 
and  it  was  just  the  same  as  if  he  himself  could  do 
all  the  fine  things  which  Frank  could  do ;  for  as 
long  as  one  of  the  family  won  honor,  what  matter 
which  of  them  it  was?  Whereon  he  shouted 
through  the  wall,  "  Good  night,  old  song-thrush ; 
I  suppose  I  need  not  pay  the  musicians." 

"  What,  awake  ?  "  answered  Frank.  "  Come  in 
here,  and  lull  me  to  sleep  with  a  sea-song." 

So  Amyas  went  in,  and  found  Frank  laid  on  the 
outside  of  his  bed  not  yet  undrest. 

"  I  am  a  bad  sleeper,"  said  he ;  "I  spend  more 
time,  I  fear,  in  burning  the  midnight  oil  than  pru- 
dent men  should.  Come  and  be  my  jongleur,  my 
minnesjnger,  anjd  tell  me  about  Andes,  and  canni- 
bals, and  the  ice-regions,  and  the  fire-regions,  and 
the  paradises  of  the  West." 

So  Amyas  sat  down,  and  told :  but  somehow, 
every  story  which  he  tried  to  tell  came  round,  by 
crooked  paths,  yet  sure,  to  none  other  point  than 
Rose  Salterne,  and  how  he  thought  of  her  here 
and  thought  of  her  there,  and  how  he  wondered 
what  she  would  say  if  she  had  seen  him  in  this 
adventure,  and  how  he  longed  to  have  had  her 
with  him  to  show  her  that  glorious  sight,  till  Frank 
let  him  have  his  own  way,  and  then  out  came  the 
whole  story  of  the  simple  fellow's  daily  and  hourly 
devotion  to  her,  through  those  three  long  years  of 
world-wide  wanderings. 


Two  Ways  of  Being  Crost  in  Love     1 27 

"  And  oh,  Frank,  I  could  hardly  think  of  any- 
thing but  her  in  the  church  the  other  day,  God 
forgive  me !  and  it  did  seem  so  hard  for  her  to  be 
the  only  face  which  I  did  not  see  —  and  have  not 
seen  her  yet,  either." 

"  So  I  thought,  dear  lad,"  said  Frank,  with  one 
of  his  sweetest  smiles ;  "  and  tried  to  get  her  father 
to  let  her  impersonate  the  nymph  of  Torridge." 

"Did  you,  you  dear  kind  fellow?  That  would 
have  been  too  delicious." 

"  Just  so,  too  delicious ;  wherefore,  I  suppose, 
it  was  ordained  not  to  be,  that  which  was  being 
delicious  enough." 

"  And  is  she  as  pretty  as  ever  ?  " 

"  Ten  times  as  pretty,  dear  lad,  as  half  the 
young  fellows  round  have  discovered.  If  you 
mean  to  win  her  and  wear  her  (and  God  grant  you 
may  fare  no  worse !)  you  will  have  rivals  enough 
to  get  rid  of." 

"  Humph !  "  said  Amyas,  "  I  hope  I  shall  not 
have  to  make  short  work  with  some  of  them." 

"  I  hope  not,"  said  Frank,  laughing.  "  Now  go 
to  bed,  and  to-morrow  morning  give  your  sword 
to  mother  to  keep,  lest  you  should  be  tempted  to 
draw  it  on  any  of  her  majesty's  lieges." 

"No  fear  of  that,  Frank ;  I  am  no  swash-buckler, 
thank  God ;  but  if  any  one  gets  in  my  way,  I  '11 
serve  him  as  the  mastiff  did  the  terrier,  and  just 
drop  him  over  the  quay  into  the  river,  to  cool  him- 
self, or  my  name 's  not  Amyas." 

And  the  giant  swung  himself  laughing  out  of  the 
room,  and  slept  all  night  like  a  seal,  not  without 
dreams,  of  course,  of  Rose  Salterne. 

The  next  morning,  according  to  his  wont,  he 
went  into  his  mother's  room,  whom  he  was  sure  to 


128  Westward  Ho  I 

find  up  and  at  her  prayers ;  for  he  liked  to  say  his 
prayers,  too,  by  her  side,  as  he  used  to  do  when 
he  was  a  little  boy.  It  seemed  so  homelike,  he 
said,  after  three  years'  knocking  up  and  down  in 
no-man's  land.  But  coming  gently  to  the  door, 
for  fear  of  disturbing  her,  and  entering  unper- 
ceived,  beheld  a  sight  which  stopped  him  short. 

Mrs.  Leigh  was  sitting  in  her  chair,  with  her  face 
bowed  fondly  down  upon  the  head  of  his  brother 
Frank,  who  knelt  before  her,  his  face  buried  in  her 
lap.  Amyas  could  see  that  his  whole  form  was 
quivering  with  stifled  emotion.  Their  mother  was 
just  finishing  the  last  words  of  a  well-known  text, 
—  "  for  my  sake,  and  the  Gospel's,  shall  receive  a 
hundred-fold  in  this  present  life,  fathers,  and 
mothers,  and  brothers,  and  sisters." 

"  But  not  a  wife !  "  interrupted  Frank,  with  a 
voice  stifled  with  sobs;  "that  was  too  precious  a 
gift  for  even  Him  to  promise  to  those  who  gave 
up  a  first  love  for  His  sake !  " 

"  And  yet,"  said  he,  after  a  moment's  silence, 
"  has  He  not  heaped  me  with  blessings  enough 
already,  that  I  must  repine  and  rage  at  His  refus- 
ing me  one  more,  even  though  that  one  be  —  No, 
mother !  I  am  your  son,  and  God's ;  and  you  shall 
know  it,  even  though  Amyas  never  does  !  "  And 
he  looked  up  with  his  clear  blue  eyes  and  white 
forehead ;  and  his  face  was  as  the  face  of  an  angel. 

Both  of  them  saw  that  Amyas  was  present,  and 
started  and  blushed.  His  mother  motioned  him 
away  with  her  eyes,  and  he  went  quietly  out,  as 
one  stunned.  Why  had  his  name  been  mentioned  ? 

Love,  cunning  love,  told  him  all  at  once.  This 
was  the  meaning  of  last  night's  canzonet!  This 
was  why  its  words  had  seemed  to  fit  his  own  heart 


Two  Ways  of  Being  Crost  in  Love     129 

so  well !  His  brother  was  his  rival.  And  he  had 
been  telling  him  all  his  love  last  night.  What  a 
stupid  brute  he  was !  How  it  must  have  made 
poor  Frank  wince  !  And  then  Frank  had  listened 
so  kindly;  even  bid  him  God  speed  in  his  suit. 
What  a  gentleman  old  Frank  was,  to  be  sure  !  No 
wonder  the  queen  was  so  fond  of  him,  and  all  the 

Court  ladies ! Why,  if  it  came  to  that,  what 

wonder  if  Rose  Salterne  should  be  fond  of  him 
too?  Hey-day !  "  That  would  be  a  pretty  fish  to 
find  in  my  net  when  I  come  to  haul  it !  "  quoth 
Amyas  to  himself,  as  he  paced  the  garden ;  and 
clutching  desperately  hold  of  his  locks  with  both 
hands,  as  if  to  hold  his  poor  confused  head  on  its 
shoulders,  he  strode  and  tramped  up  and  down  the 
shell-paved  garden  walks  for  a  full  half  hour,  till 
Frank's  voice  (as  cheerful  as  ever,  though  he  more 
than  suspected  all)  called  him. 

"  Come  in  to  breakfast,  lad ;  and  stop  grinding 
and  creaking  upon  those  miserable  limpets,  before 
thou  hast  set  every  tooth  in  my  head  on  edge  !  " 

Amyas,  whether  by  dint  of  holding  his  head 
straight,  or  by  higher  means,  had  got  the  thoughts 
of  the  said  head  straight  enough  by  this  time ;  and 
in  he  came,  and  fell  to  upon  the  broiled  fish  and 
strong  ale,  with  a  sort  of  fury,  as  determined  to  do 
his  duty  to  the  utmost  in  all  matters  that  day, 
and  therefore,  of  course,  in  that  most  important 
matter  of  bodily  sustenance ;  while  his  mother  and 
Frank  looked  at  him,  not  without  anxiety  and  even 
terror,  doubting  what  turn  his  fancy  might  have 
taken  in  so  new  a  case ;  at  last  — 

11  My  dear  Amyas,  you  will  really  heat  your 
blood  with  all  that  strong  ale  !  Remember,  those 
who  drink  beer,  think  beer." 


130  Westward  Hoi 

"  Then  they  think  right  good  thoughts,  mother. 
And  in  the  meanwhile,  those  who  drink  water, 
think  water.  Eh,  old  Frank  ?  and  here  's  your 
health." 

"  And  clouds  are  water,"  said  his  mother,  some- 
what reassured  by  his  genuine  good  humor ;  "  and 
so  are  rainbows;  and  clouds  are  angels'  thrones, 
and  rainbows  the  sign  of  God's  peace  on  earth." 

Amyas  understood  the  hint,  and  laughed. 
"  Then  I  '11  pledge  Frank  out  of  the  next  ditch, 
if  it  please  you  and  him.  But  first  —  I  say  —  he 
must  hearken  to  a  parable ;  a  manner  mystery, 
miracle  play,  I  have  got  in  my  head,  like  what 
they  have  at  Easter,  to  the  town-hall.  Now  then, 
hearken,  madam,  and  I  and  Frank  will  act."  And 
up  rose  Amyas,  and  shoved  back  his  chair,  and 
put  on  a  solemn  face. 

Mrs.  Leigh  looked  up,  trembling;  and  Frank, 
he  scarce  knew  why,  rose. 

"  No ;  you  pitch  again.  You  are  King  David, 
and  sit  still  upon  your  throne.  David  was  a  great 
singer,  you  know,  and  a  player  on  the  viols ;  and 
ruddy,  too,  and  of  a  fair  countenance ;  so  that  will 
fit.  Now,  then,  mother,  don't  look  so  frightened. 
I  am  not  going  to  play  Goliath,  for  all  my  cubits ; 
I  am  to  present  Nathan  the  prophet.  Now,  David, 
hearken,  for  I  have  a  message  unto  thee,  O  King ! 

"  There  were  two  men  in  one  city,  one  rich,  and 
the  other  poor:  and  the  rich  man  had  many 
flocks  and  herds,  and  all  the  fine  ladies  in  White- 
hall to  court  if  he  liked ;  and  the  poor  man  had 
nothing  but " 

And  in  spite  of  his  broad  honest  smile,  Amyas's 
deep  voice  began  to  tremble  and  choke. 

Frank  sprang  up,  and  burst   into  tears :  "  Oh  1 


Two  Ways  of  Being  Crost  in  Love     131 

Amyas,  my  brother,  my  brother !  stop !  I  cannot 
endure  this.  Oh,  God !  was  it  not  enough  to  have 
entangled  myself  in  this  fatal  fancy,  but  over  and 
above,  I  must  meet  the  shame  of  my  brother's 
discovering  it?" 

"What  shame,  then,  I'd  like  to  know?"  said 
Amyas,  recovering  himself.  "  Look  here,  brother 
Frank !  I  Ve  thought  it  all  over  in  the  garden ;  and 
I  was  an  ass  and  a  braggart  for  talking  to  you  as  I 
did  last  night.  Of  course  you  love  her !  Everybody 
must ;  and  I  was  a  fool  for  not  recollecting  that ; 
and  if  you  love  her,  your  taste  and  mine  agree, 
and  what  can  be  better?  I  think  you  are  a 
sensible  fellow  for  loving  her,  and  you  think  me 
one.  And  as  for  who  has  her,  why,  you  're  the 
eldest ;  and  first  come  first  served  is  the  rule,  and 
best  to  keep  to  it.  Besides,  brother  Frank,  though 
I'm  no  scholar,  yet  I  'm  not  so  blind  but  that  I  tell 
the  difference  between  you  and  me ;  and  of  course 
your  chance  against  mine,  for  a  hundred  to  one ;  and 
I  am  not  going  to  be  fool  enough  to  row  against  wind 
and  tide  too.  I  'm  good  enough  for  her,  I  hope ; 
but  if  I  am,  you  are  better,  and  the  good  dog  may 
run,  but  it's  the  best  that  takes  the  hare;  and  so 
I  have  nothing  more  to  do  with  the  matter  at  all ; 
and  if  you  marry  her,  why,  it  will  set  the  old  house 
on  its  legs  again,  and  that 's  the  first  thing  to  be 
thought  of,  and  you  may  just  as  well  do  it  as  I, 
and  better  too.  Not  but  that  it 's  a  plague,  a 
horrible  plague ! "  went  on  Amyas,  with  a  ludi- 
crously doleful  visage ;  "  but  so  are  other  things 
too,  by  the  dozen ;  it 's  all  in  the  day's  work,  as  the 
huntsman  said  when  the  lion  ate  him.  One  would 
never  get  through  the  furze-croft  if  one  stopped  to 
pull  out  the  prickles.  The  pig  did  n't  scramble 


132  Westward  Ho! 

out  of  the  ditch  by  squeaking ;  and  the  less  said 
the  sooner  mended ;  nobody  was  sent  into  the 
world  only  to  suck  honey-pots.  What  must  be 
must,  man  is  but  dust;  if  you  can't  get  crumb,  you 
must  fain  eat  crust.  So  I  '11  go  and  join  the  army 
in  Ireland,  and  get  it  out  of  my  head,  for  cannon 
balls  fright  away  love  as  well  as  poverty  does ;  and 
that 's  all  I  Ve  got  to  say."  Wherewith  Amyas  sat 
down,  and  returned  to  the  beer ;  while  Mrs.  Leigh 
wept  tears  of  joy. 

"  Amyas  !  Amyas !  "  said  Frank ;  "  you  must 
not  throw  away  the  hopes  of  years,  and  for  me, 
too  !  Oh,  how  just  was  your  parable  !  Ah ! 
mother  mine !  to  what  use  is  all  my  scholarship 
and  my  philosophy,  when  this  dear  simple  sailor- 
lad  outdoes  me  at  the  first  trial  of  courtesy !  " 

"  My  children,  my  children,  which  of  you  shall 
I  love  best?  Which  of  you  is  the  more  noble?  I 
thanked  God  this  morning  for  having  given  me 
one  such  son;  but  to  have  found  that  I  possess 
two !  "  And  Mrs.  Leigh  laid  her  head  on  the 
table,  and  buried  her  face  in  her  hands,  while  the 
generous  battle  went  on. 

"  But,  dearest  Amyas  ! " 

"  But,  Frank !  if  you  don't  hold  your  tongue,  I 
must  go  forth.  It  was  quite  trouble  enough  to 
make  up  one's  mind,  without  having  you  after- 
wards trying  to  unmake  it  again." 

"  Amyas  !  if  you  give  her  up  to  me,  God  do  so 
to  me,  and  more  also,  if  I  do  not  hereby  give  her 
up  to  you  !  " 

"  He  had  done  it  already  —  this  morning !  "  said 
Mrs.  Leigh,  looking  up  through  her  tears.  "  He 
renounced  her  forever  on  his  knees  before  me  I 
only  he  is  too  noble  to  tell  you  so." 


Two  Ways  of  Being  Crost  in  Love     133 

"The  more  reason  I  should  copy  him,"  said 
Amyas,  setting  his  lips,  and  trying  to  look  des- 
perately determined,  and  then  suddenly  jumping 
up,  he  leaped  upon  Frank,  and  throwing  his  arms 
round  his  neck,  sobbed  out,  "  There,  there,  now ! 
For  God's  sake,  let  us  forget  all,  and  think  about 
our  mother,  and  the  old  house,  and  how  we  may 
win  her  honor  before  we  die !  and  that  will  be 
enough  to  keep  our  hands  full,  without  fretting 
about  this  woman  and  that.  — What  an  ass  I  have 
been  for  years !  instead  of  learning  my  calling, 
dreaming  about  her,  and  don't  know  at  this  minute 
whether  she  cares  more  for  me  than  she  does  for 
her  father's  'prentices  ! " 

"  Oh,  Amyas  !  every  word  of  yours  puts  me  to 
fresh  shame !  Will  you  believe  that  I  know  as 
little  of  her  likings  as  you  do?  " 

"  Don't  tell  me  that,  and  play  the  devil's  game 
by  putting  fresh  hopes  into  me,  when  I  am  trying 
to  kick  them  out.  I  won't  believe  it.  If  she  is  not 
a  fool,  she  must  love  you ;  and  if  she  don't,  why, 
be  hanged  if  she  is  worth  loving ! " 

"  My  dearest  Amyas  !  I  must  ask  you  too  to 
make  no  more  such  speeches  to  me.  All  those 
thoughts  I  have  forsworn." 

"  Only  this  morning ;  so  there  is  time  to  catch 
them  again  before  they  are  gone  too  far." 

"  Only  this  morning,"  said  Frank,  with  a  quiet 
smile :  "  but  centuries  have  passed  since  then." 

"Centuries?  I  don't  see  many  gray  hairs 
yet." 

"  I  should  not  have  been  surprised  if  you  had, 
thoiigh/'answered  Frank,  in  so  sad  and  meaning  a 
tone  that  Amyas  could  only  answer  — 

"  Well,  you  are  an  angel ! " 


134  Westward  Ho! 

"  You,  at  least,  are  something  even  more  to  the 
purpose,  for  you  are  a  man  !  " 

And  both  spoke  truth,  and  so  the  battle  ended ; 
and  Frank  went  to  his  books,  while  Amyas,  who 
must  needs  be  doing,  if  he  was  not  to  dream, 
started  off  to  the  dockyard  to  potter  about  a  new 
ship  of  Sir  Richard's,  and  forget  his  woes,  in  the 
capacity  of  Sir  Oracle  among  the  sailors.  And 
so  he  had  played  his  move  for  Rose,  even  as 
Eustace  had,  and  lost  her:  but  not  as  Eustace 
had. 


CHAPTER  V 

CLOVELLY  COURT   IN  THE  OLDEN  TIME 

"It  was  among  the  ways  of  good  Queen  Bess, 
Who  ruled  as  well  as  ever  mortal  can,  sir, 
When  she  was  stogg'd,  and  the  country  in  a  mess, 
She  was  wont  to  send  for  a  Devon  man,  sir." 

West  Country  Song. 

r  I  ^HE  next  morning  Amyas  Leigh  was  not  to 
JL  be  found.  Not  that  he  had  gone  out  to 
drown  himself  in  despair,  or  even  to  bemoan  him- 
self "  down  by  the  Torridge  side."  He  had  simply 
ridden  off,  Frank  found,  to  Sir  Richard  Grenville 
at  Stow:  his  mother  at  once  divined  the  truth, 
that  he  was  gone  to  try  for  a  post  in  the  Irish 
army,  and  sent  off  Frank  after  him  to  bring  him 
home  again,  and  make  him  at  least  reconsider 
himself. 

So  Frank  took  horse  and  rode  thereon  ten  miles 
or  more :  and  then,  as  there  were  no  inns  on  the 
road  in  those  days,  or  indeed  in  these,  and  he  had 
some  ten  miles  more  of  hilly  road  before  him,  he 
turned  down  the  hill  towards  Clovelly  Court,  to 
obtain,  after  the  hospitable  humane  fashion  of 
those  days,  good  entertainment  for  man  and  horse 
from  Mr.  Gary  the  squire. 

And  when  he  walked  self-invited,  like  the  loud- 
shouting  Menelaus,  into  the  long  dark  wainscoted 
hall  of  the  court,  the  first  object  he  beheld  was 
the  mighty  form  of  Amyas,  who,  seated  at  the 


136  Westward  Ho  I 

long  table,  was  alternately  burying  his  face  in  a 
pasty,  and  the  pasty  in  his  face,  his  sorrows  having, 
as  it  seemed,  only  sharpened  his  appetite,  while 
young  Will  Gary,  kneeling  on  the  opposite  bench, 
with  his  elbows  on  the  table,  was  in  that  graceful 
attitude  laying  down  the  law  fiercely  to  him  in  a 
low  voice. 

"  Hillo  !  lad,"  cried  Amyas ;  "  come  hither  and 
deliver  me  out  of  the  hands  of  this  fire-eater,  who 
I  verily  believe  will  kill  me,  if  I  do  not  let  him  kill 
some  one  else." 

"  Ah  !  Mr.  Frank,"  said  Will  Gary,  who,  like  all 
other  young  gentlemen  of  these  parts,  held  Frank 
in  high  honor,  and  considered  him  a  very  oracle 
and  cynosure  of  fashion  and  chivalry,  "welcome 
here :  I  was  just  longing  for  you,  too ;  I  wanted 
your  advice  on  half-a-dozen  matters.  Sit  down, 
and  eat.  There  is  the  ale." 

"  None  so  early,  thank  you." 

"  Ah  no  !  "  said  Amyas,  burying  his  head  in  the 
tankard,  and  then  mimicking  Frank,  "  avoid  strong 
ale  o'  mornings.  It  heats  the  blood,  thickens  the 
animal  spirits,  and  obfuscates  the  cerebrum  with 
frenetical  and  lymphatic  idols,  which  cloud  the 
quintessential  light  of  the  pure  reason.  Eh? 
young  Plato,  young  Daniel,  come  hither  to  judg- 
ment! And  yet,  though  I  cannot  see  through 
the  bottom  of  the  tankard  already,  I  can  see  plain 
enough  still  to  see  this,  that  Will  shall  not  fight." 

"Shall  I  not,  eh?  who  says  that?  Mr.  Frank, 
I  appeal  to  you,  now ;  only  hear." 

"We  are  in  the  judgment- seat,"  said  Frank, 
settling  to  the  pasty.  "Proceed,  appellant." 

"Well,  I  was  telling  Amyas,  that  Tom  Coffin,  of 
Portledge ;  I  will  stand  him  no  longer." 


Clovelly  Court  in  the  Olden  Time     1 37 

"Let  him  be,  then,"  said  Amyas;  "he  could 
stand  very  well  by  himself,  when  I  saw  him 
last." 

"  Plague  on  you,  hold  your  tongue.  Has  he 
any  right  to  look  at  me  as  he  does,  whenever  I 
pass  him?  " 

"That  depends  on  how  he  looks;  a  cat  may 
look  at  a  king,  provided  she  don't  take  him  for  a 
mouse." 

"  Oh,  I  know  how  he  looks,  and  what  he  means 
too,  and  he  shall  stop,  or  I  will  stop  him.  And 
the  other  day,  when  I  spoke  of  Rose  Salterne  "  — 
"  Ah  !  "  groaned  Frank,  "  Ate's  apple  again  !  "  — 
"  (never  mind  what  I  said)  he  burst  out  laughing 
in  my  face ;  and  is  not  that  a  fair  quarrel  ?  And 
what  is  more,  I  know  that  he  wrote  a  sonnet,  and 
sent  it  to  her  to  Stow  by  a  market  woman.  What 
right  has  he  to  write  sonnets  when  I  can't?  It's 
not  fair  play,  Mr.  Frank,  or  I  am  a  Jew,  and  a 
Spaniard,  and  a  Papist ;  it 's  not ! "  And  Will 
smote  the  table  till  the  plates  danced  again. 

"  My  dear  knight  of  the  burning  pestle,  I  have  a 
plan,  a  device,  a  disentanglement,  according  to  most 
approved  rules  of  chivalry.  Let  us  fix  a  day,  and 
summon  by  tuck  of  drum  all  young  gentlemen 
under  the  age  of  thirty,  dwelling  within  fifteen 
miles  of  the  habitation  of  that  peerless  Oriana." 

"  And  all  'prentice-boys  too,"  cried  Amyas,  out 
of  the  pasty. 

11  And  all  'prentice-boys.  The  bold  lads  shall 
fight  first,  with  good  quarterstaves,  in  Bideford 
Market,  till  all  heads  are  broken;  and  the  head 
which  is  not  broken,  let  the  back  belonging  to 
it  pay  the  penalty  of  the  noble  member's  cow- 
ardice. After  which  grand  tournament,  to  which 
Vol.  8-7 


138  Westward  Ho ! 

that  of  Tottenham  shall  be  but  a  flea-bite  and  a 
batrachomyomachy " 

"  Confound  you,  and  your  long  words,  sir,"  said 
poor  Will,  "  I  know  you  are  flouting  me." 

"  Pazienza,  Signer  Cavaliere ;  that  which  is  to 
come  is  no  flouting,  but  bloody  and  warlike  earnest. 
For  afterwards  all  the  young  gentlemen  shall  ad- 
journ into  a  convenient  field,  sand,  or  bog  —  which 
last  will  be  better,  as  no  man  will  be  able  to  run 
away,  if  he  be  up  to  his  knees  in  soft  peat :  and 
there  stripping  to  our  shirts,  with  rapiers  of  equal 
length  and  keenest  temper,  each  shall  slay  his  man, 
catch  who  catch  can,  and  the  conquerors  fight 
again,  like  a  most  valiant  main  of  gamecocks  as 
we  are,  till  all  be  dead,  and  out  of  their  woes ; 
after  which  the  survivor,  bewailing  before  heaven 
and  earth  the  cruelty  of  our  Fair  Oriana,  and  the 
slaughter  which  her  basiliscine  eyes  have  caused, 
shall  fall  gracefully  upon  his  sword,  and  so  end 
the  woes  of  this  our  lovelorn  generation.  Placetne 
Domini?  as  they  used  to  ask  in  the  Senate  at 
Oxford." 

"Really,"  said  Gary,  "this  is  too  bad." 

"So  is,  pardon  me,  your  fighting  Mr.  Coffin 
with  anything  longer  than  a  bodkin." 

"  Bodkins  are  too  short  for  such  fierce  Bobadils," 
said  Amyas ;  "  they  would  close  in  so  near,  that 
we  should  have  them  falling  to  fisticuffs  after 
the  first  bout." 

"Then  let  them  fight  with  squirts  across  the 
market-place ;  for  by  heaven  and  the  queen's 
laws,  they  shall  fight  with  nothing  else." 

"  My  dear  Mr.  Gary,"  went  on  Frank,  suddenly 
changing  his  bantering  tone  to  one  of  the  most 
winning  sweetness,  "do  not  fancy  that  I  cannot 


Clovelly  Court  in  the  Olden  Time     139 

feel  for  you,  or  that  I,  as  well  as  you,  have  not 
known  the  stings  of  love  and  the  bitterer  stings  of 
jealousy.  But  oh,  Mr.  Gary,  does  it  not  seem  to 
you  an  awful  thing  to  waste  selfishly  upon  your 
own  quarrel  that  divine  wrath  which,  as  Plato 
says,  is  the  very  root  of  all  virtues,  and  which  has 
been  given  you,  like  all  else  which  you  have,  that 
you  may  spend  it  in  the  service  of  her  whom  all 
bad  souls  fear,  and  all  virtuous  souls  adore, — 
our  peerless  queen?  Who  dares,  while  she  rules 
England,  call  his  sword  or  his  courage  his  own,  or 
any  one's  but  hers?  Are  there  no  Spaniards  to 
conquer,  no  wild  Irish  to  deliver  from  their  op- 
pressors, that  two  gentlemen  of  Devon  can  find 
no  better  place  to  flesh  their  blades  than  in  each 
other's  valiant  and  honorable  hearts  ?  " 

"  By  heaven  !  "  cried  Amyas,  "  Frank  speaks  like 
a  book;  and  for  me,  I  do  think  that  Christian 
gentlemen  may  leave  love  quarrels  to  bulls  and 
rams." 

"  And  that  the  heir  of  Clovelly,"  said  Frank, 
smiling,  "  may  find  more  noble  examples  to  copy 
than  the  stags  in  his  own  deer-park." 

"Well,"  said  Will,  penitently,  "you  are  a  great 
scholar,  Mr.  Frank,  and  you  speak  like  one ;  but 
gentlemen  must  fight  sometimes,  or  where  would 
be  their  honor?" 

"  I  speak,"  said  Frank,  a  little  proudly,  "  not 
merely  as  a  scholar,  but  as  «*  gentleman,  and  one 
who  has  fought  ere  now,  and  to  whom  it  has 
happened,  Mr.  Gary,  to  kill  his  man  (on  whose 
soul  may  God  have  mercy) ;  but  it  is  my  pride  to 
remember  that  I  have  never  yet  fought  in  my  own 
quarrel,  and  my  trust  in  God  that  I  never  shall. 
For  as  there  is  nothing  more  noble  and  blessed 


140  Westward  Ho ! 

than  to  fight  in  behalf  of  those  whom  we  love, 
so  to  fight  in  our  own  private  behalf  is  a  thing 
not  to  be  allowed  to  a  Christian  man,  unless 
refusal  imports  utter  loss  of  life  or  honor;  and 
even  then,  it  may  be  (though  I  would  not  lay  a 
burden  on  any  man's  conscience),  it  is  better 
not  to  resist  evil,  but  to  overcome  it  with  good." 

"  And  I  can  tell  you,  Will,"  said  Amyas,  "  I  am 
not  troubled  with  fear  of  ghosts ;  but  when  I  cut 
off  the  Frenchman's  head,  I  said  to  myself,  '  If 
that  braggart  had  been  slandering  me  instead 
of  her  gracious  majesty,  I  should  expect  to  see 
that  head  lying  on  my  pillow  every  time  I  went 
to  bed  at  night.'" 

"  God  forbid ! "  said  Will,  with  a  shudder. 
"But  what  shall  I  do?  for  to  the  market  to- 
morrow I  will  go,  if  it  were  choke-full  of  Coffins, 
and  a  ghost  in  each  coffin  of  the  lot." 

"  Leave  the  matter  to  me,"  said  Amyas.  "  I 
have  my  device,  as  well  as  scholar  Frank  here; 
and  if  there  be,  as  I  suppose  there  must  be, 
a  quarrel  in  the  market  to-morrow,  see  if  I  do 
not " 

"Well,  you  are  two  good  fellows,"  said  Will. 
"  Let  us  have  another  tankard  in." 

"And  drink  the  health  of  Mr.  Coffin,  and  all 
gallant  lads  of  the  North,"  said  Frank ;  "  and  now 
to  my  business.  I  have  to  take  this  runaway 
youth  here  home  to  his  mother ;  and  if  he  will  not 
go  quietly,  I  have  orders  to  carry  him  across  my 
saddle." 

"  I  hope  your  nag  has  a  strong  back,  then,"  said 
Amyas ;  "  but  I  must  go  on  and  see  Sir  Richard, 
Frank.  It  is  all  very  well  to  jest  as  we  have  been 
doing,  but  my  mind  is  made  up." 


Clovelly  Court  in  the  Olden  Time     141 

H  Stop,"  said  Gary.  "  You  must  stay  here  to- 
night ;  first,  for  good  fellowship's  sake ;  and  next, 
because  I  want  the  advice  of  our  Phoenix  here,  our 
oracle,  our  paragon.  There,  Mr.  Frank,  can  you 
construe  that  for  me?  Speak  low,  though,  gentle- 
men both;  there  comes  my  father;  you  had 
better  give  me  the  letter  again.  Well,  father, 
whence  this  morning  ?  " 

"Eh,  company  here?  Young  men,  you  are 
always  welcome,  and  such  as  you.  Would  there 
were  more  of  your  sort  in  these  dirty  times  !  How 
is  your  good  mother,  Frank,  eh?  Where  have  I 
been,  Will?  Round  the  house-farm,  to  look  at 
the  beeves.  That  sheeted  heifer  of  Prowse's  is  all 
wrong;  her  coat  stares  Eke  a  hedgepig's.  Tell 
Jewell  to  go  op  and  bring  her  in  before  night 
And  then  up  the  forty  acres ;  sprang  two  coveys, 
and  picked  a  leash  out  of  them.  The  Irish  hawk 
flies  as  wild  as  any  haggard  still,  and  will  never 
make  a  bird.  I  had  to  hand  her  to  Tom,  and  take 
the  little  peregrine.  Give  me  a  Clovelly  hawk 
against  the  world,  after  all;  and —  heigh  ho,  I  am 
very  hungry!  Half-past  twelve,  and  dinner  not 
served?  What,  Master  Amyas,  spoiling  your  ap- 
petite with  strong  ale?  Better  have  tried  sack, 
lad ;  have  some  now  with  me." 

And  the  worthy  old  gentleman,  having  finished 
his  oration,  settled  himself  on  a  great  bench  inside 
the  chimney,  and  put  his  hawk  on  a  perch  over 
his  head,  while  his  cockers  coiled  themselves  up 
close  to  the  warm  peat-ashes,  and  his  son  set  to 
work  to  pull  off  his  father's  boots,  amid  sundry 
warnings  to  take  care  of  his  corns. 

"  Come,  Master  Amyas,  a  pint  of  white  wine  and 
sugar,  and  a  bit  of  a  shoeing-horn  to  it  ere  we 


142  Westward  HoT 

dine.  Some  pickled  prawns,  now,  or  a  rasher  off 
the  coals,  to  whet  you  ?  " 

"  Thank  you,"  quoth  Amyas ;  "  but  I  have 
drunk  a  mort  of  outlandish  liquors,  better  and 
worse,  in  the  last  three  years,  and  yet  never  found 
aught  to  come  up  to  good  ale,  which  needs  neither 
shoeing-horn  before  nor  after,  but  takes  care  of 
itself,  and  of  all  honest  stomachs  too,  I  think." 

"You  speak  like  a  book,  boy,"  said  old  Gary; 
"  and  after  all,  what  a  plague  comes  of  these  new- 
fangled hot  wines,  and  aqua  vitaes,  which  have 
come  in  since  the  wars,  but  maddening  of  the 
brains,  and  fever  of  the  blood  ?  " 

"  I  fear  we  have  not  seen  the  end  of  that  yet," 
said  Frank.  "  My  friends  write  me  from  the 
Netherlands  that  our  men  are  falling  into  a  swinish 
trick  of  swilling  like  the  Hollanders.  Heaven 
gran*-  that  they  may  not  bring  home  the  fashion 
with  them." 

"  A  man  must  drink,  they  say,  or  die  of  the 
ague,  in  those  vile  swamps,"  said  Amyas.  "  When 
they  get  home  here,  they  will  not  need  it." 

"  Heaven  grant  it,"  said  Frank ;  "  I  should  be 
sorry  to  see  Devonshire  a  drunken  county;  and 
there  are  many  of  our  men  out  there  with  Mr. 
Champernoun." 

"  Ah,"  said  Gary,  "  there,  as  in  Ireland,  we  are 
proving  her  majesty's  saying  true,  that  Devonshire 
is  her  right  hand,  and  the  young  children  thereof 
like  the  arrows  in  the  hand  of  the  giant." 

"  They  may  well  be,"  said  his  son,  "  when  some 
of  them  are  giants  themselves,  like  my  tall  school- 
fellow opposite." 

"  He  will  be  up  and  doing  again  presently,  I  'U 
warrant  him,"  said  old  Gary,. 


Clovelly  Court  in  the  Olden  Time     143 

"  And  that  I  shall,"  quoth  Amyas.  "  I  have 
been  devising  brave  deeds ;  and  see  in  the  distance 
enchanters  to  be  bound,  dragons  choked,  empires 
conquered,  though  not  in  Holland." 

"  You  do  ?  "  asked  Will,  a  little  sharply ;  for  he 
had  had  a  half  suspicion  that  more  was  meant  than 
met  the  ear. 

"  Yes,"  said  Amyas,  turning  off  his  jest  again, 
"I  go  to  what  Raleigh  calls  the  Land  of  the 
Nymphs.  Another  month,  I  hope,  will  see  me 
abroad  in  Ireland." 

"Abroad?  Call  it  rather  at  home,"  said  old 
Gary ;  "  for  it  is  full  of  Devon  men  from  end  to 
end,  and  you  will  be  among  friends  all  day  long. 
George  Bourchier  from  Tawstock  has  the  army  now 
in  Munster, .  and  Warham  St.  Leger  is  marshal ; 
George  Carew  is  with  Lord  Grey  of  Wilton  (Poor 
Peter  Carew  was  killed  at  Glendalough)  ;  and  after 
the  defeat  last  year,  when  that  villain  Desmond  cut 
off  Herbert  and  Price,  the  companies  were  made 
up  with  six  hundred  Devon  men,  and  Arthur 
Fortescue  at  their  head;  so  that  the  old  county 
holds  her  head  as  proudly  in  the  Land  of  Ire  as 
she  does  in  the  Low  Countries  and  the  Spanish 
Main." 

"  And  where,"  asked  Amyas,  "  is  Davils  of 
Marsland,  who  used  to  teach  me  how  to  catch 
trout,  when  I  was  staying  down  at  Stow  ?  He  is  in 
Ireland,  too,  is  he  not?" 

"  Ah,  my  lad,"  said  Mr.  Gary,  "  that  is  a  sad 
story.  I  thought  all  England  had  known  it." 

"  You  forget,  sir,  I  am  a  stranger.  Surely  he  is 
not  dead  ?  " 

"  Murdered  foully,  lad  !  Murdered  like  a  dog, 
and  by  the  man  whom  he  had  treated  as  his  son, 


144  Westward  Ho ! 

and  who  pretended,  the  false  knave !  to  call  him 
father." 

"  His  blood  is  avenged  ?  "  said  Amyas,  fiercely. 

"  No,  by  heaven,  not  yet !  Stay,  don't  cry  out 
again.  I  am  getting  old  —  I  must  tell  my  story 
my  own  way.  It  was  last  July,  —  was  it  not,  Will? 
—  Over  comes  to  Ireland  Saunders,  one  of  those 
Jesuit  foxes,  as  the  Pope's  legate,  with  money  and 
bulls,  and  a  banner  hallowed  by  the  Pope,  and  the 
devil  knows  what  beside;  and  with  him  James 
Fitzmaurice,  the  same  fellow  who  had  sworn  on  his 
knees  to  Perrott,  in  the  church  at  Kilmallock,  to  be 
a  true  liegeman  to  Queen  Elizabeth,  and  confirmed 
it  by  all  his  saints,  and  such  a  world  of  his  Irish 
howling,  that  Perrott  told  me  he  was  fain  to  stop 
his  own  ears.  Well,  he  had  been  practising  with 
the  King  of  France,  but  got  nothing  but  laughter 
for  his  pains,  and  so  went  over  to  the  Most  Cath- 
olic King,  and  promises  him  to  join  Ireland  to 
Spain,  and  set  up  Popery  again,  and  what  not. 
And  he,  I  suppose,  thinking  it  better  that  Ireland 
should  belong  to  him  than  to  the  Pope's  bastard, 
fits  him  out,  and  sends  him  off  on  such  another 
errand  as  Stukely's,  —  though  I  will  say,  for  the 
honor  of  Devon,  if  Stukely  lived  like  a  fool,  he 
died  like  an  honest  man." 

"  Sir  Thomas  Stukely  dead  too  ?  "  said  Amyas. 

"Wait  a  while,  lad,  and  you  shall  have  that 
tragedy  afterwards.  Well,  where  was  I?  Oh, 
Fitzmaurice  and  the  Jesuits  land  at  Smerwick, 
with  three  ships,  choose  a  place  for  a  fort,  bless  it 
with  their  holy  water,  and  their  moppings  and 
their  scourings,  and  the  rest  of  it,  to  purify  it  from 
the  stain  of  heretic  dominion;  but  in  the  mean- 
while one  of  the  Courtenays,  —  a  Courtenay  of 


Clovelly  Court  in  the  Olden  Time     145 

Haccombe,  was  it?  —  or  a  Courtenay  of  Bocon- 
nock?  Silence,  Will,  I  shall  have  it  in  a  minute 
—  yes,  a  Courtenay  of  Haccombe  it  was,  lying  at 
anchor  near  by,  in  a  ship  of  war  of  his,  cuts  out 
the  three  ships,  and  cuts  off  the  Dons  from  the 
sea.  John  and  James  Desmond,  with  some  small 
rabble,  go  over  to  the  Spaniards.  Earl  Desmond 
will  not  join  them,  but  will  not  fight  them,  and 
stands  by  to  take  the  winning  side ;  and  then  in 
comes  poor  Davils,  sent  down  by  the  Lord  Deputy 
to  charge  Desmond  and  his  brothers,  in  the  queen's 
name,  to  assault  the  Spaniards.  Folks  say  it  was 
rash  of  his  lordship :  but  I  say,  what  could  be 
better  done?  Every  one  knows  that  there  never 
was  a  stouter  or  shrewder  soldier  than  Davils ;  and 
the  young  Desmonds,  I  have  heard  him  say  many 
a  time,  used  to  look  on  him  as  their  father.  But 
he  found  out  what  it  was  to  trust  Englishmen 
turned  Irish.  Well,  the  Desmonds  found  out  on 
a  sudden  that  the  Dons  were  such  desperate 
Paladins,  that  it  was  madness  to  meddle,  though 
they  were  five  to  one ;  and  poor  Davils,  seeing 
that  there  was  no  fight  in  them,  goes  back  for 
help,  and  sleeps  that  night  at  some  place  called 
Tralee.  Arthur  Carter  of  Bideford,  St.  Leger's 
lieutenant,  as  stout  an  old  soldier  as  Davils  him- 
self, sleeps  in  the  same  bed  with  him ;  the  lacquey- 
boy,  who  is  now  with  Sir  Richard  at  Stow,  on  the 
floor  at  their  feet.  But  in  the  dead  of  night,  who 
should  come  in  but  James  Desmond,  sword  in 
hand,  with  a  dozen  of  his  ruffians  at  his  heels, 
each  with  his  glib  over  his  ugly  face,  and  his  skene 
in  his  hand.  Davils  springs  up  in  bed,  and  asks 
but  this,  'What  is  the  matter,  my  son?'  whereon 
the  treacherous  villain,  without  giving  him  time  to 


146  Westward  Ho ! 

say  a  prayer,  strikes  at  him,  naked  as  he  was,  cry- 
ing, '  Thou  shalt  be  my  father  no  longer,  nor  I  thy 
son !  Thou  shalt  die  ! '  and  at  that  all  the  rest 
fall  on  him.  The  poor  little  lad  (  so  he  says) 
leaps  up  to  cover  his  master  with  his  naked  body, 
gets  three  or  four  stabs  of  skenes,  and  so  falls  for 
dead ;  with  his  master  and  Captain  Carter,  who 
were  dead  indeed  —  God  reward  them  !  After 
that  the  ruffians  ransacked  the  house,  till  they  had 
murdered  every  Englishman  in  it,  the  lacquey-boy 
only  excepted,  who  crawled  out,  wounded  as  he 
was,  through  a  window;  while  Desmond,  if  you 
will  believe  it,  went  back,  up  to  his  elbows  in 
blood,  and  vaunted  his  deeds  to  the  Spaniards,  and 
asked  them  —  '  There  !  Will  you  take  that  as  a 
pledge  that  I  am  faithful  to  you  ? '  And  that,  my 
lad,  was  the  end  of  Henry  Davils,  and  will  be  of  all 
who  trust  to  the  faith  of  wild  savages." 

"  I  would  go  a  hundred  miles  to  see  that  Des- 
mond hanged  ! "  said  Amyas,  while  great  tears  ran 
down  his  face.  "  Poor  Mr.  Davils !  And  now, 
what  is  the  story  of  Sir  Thomas?" 

"Your  brother  must  tell  you  that,  lad;  I  am 
somewhat  out  of  breath." 

"And  I  have  a  right  to  tell  it,"  said  Frank, 
with  a  smile.  "Do  you  know  that  I  was  very 
near  being  Earl  of  the  bog  of  Allen,  and  one  of 
the  peers  of  the  realm  to  King  Buoncompagna, 
son  and  heir  to  his  holiness  Pope  Gregory  the 
Thirteenth?" 

"  No,  surely !  " 

"  As  I  am  a  gentleman.  When  I  was  at  Rome  I 
saw  poor  Stukely  often;  and  this  and  more  he 
offered  me  on  the  part  (as  he  said)  of  the  Pope,  if 
I  would  just  oblige  him  in  the  two  little  matters  of 


Clovelly  Court  in  the  Olden  Time     147 

being  reconciled  to  the  Catholic  Church,  and  join- 
ing the  invasion  of  Ireland." 

"Poor  deluded  heretic,"  said  Will  Gary,  "to 
have  lost  an  earldom  for  your  family  by  such  silly 
scruples  of  loyalty  !  " 

"  It  is  not  a  matter  for  jesting,  after  all,"  said 
Frank ;  "  but  I  saw  Sir  Thomas  often,  and  I  can- 
not believe  he  was  in  his  senses,  so  frantic  was  his 
vanity  and  his  ambition ;  and  all  the  while,  in  pri- 
vate matters  as  honorable  a  gentleman  as  ever. 
However,  he  sailed  at  last  for  Ireland,  with  his 
eight  hundred  Spaniards  and  Italians;  and  what 
is  more,  I  know  that  the  King  of  Spain  paid  their 
charges.  Marquis  Vinola — James  Buoncompagna, 
that  is  —  stayed  quietly  at  Rome,  preferring  that 
Stukely  should  conquer  his  paternal  heritage  of 
Ireland  for  him  while  he  took  care  of  the  bona 
robas  at  home.  I  went  down  to  Civita  Vecchia  to 
see  him  off;  and  though  his  younger  by  many 
years,  I  could  not  but  take  the  liberty  of  entreating 
him,  as  a  gentleman  and  a  man  of  Devon,  to  con- 
sider his  faith  to  his  queen  and  the  honor  of  his 
country.  There  were  high  words  between  us; 
God  forgive  me  if  I  spoke  too  fiercely,  for  I  never 
saw  him  again." 

"Too  fiercely  to  an  open  traitor,  Frank?  Why 
not  have  run  him  through?  " 

"  Nay,  I  had  no  clean  life  for  Sundays,  Amyas ; 
so  I  could  not  throw  away  my  week-day  one ;  and 
as  for  the  weal  of  England,  I  knew  that  it  was  little 
he  would  damage  it,  and  told  him  so.  And  at  that 
he  waxed  utterly  mad,  for  it  touched  his  pride,  and 
swore  that  if  the  wind  had  not  been  fair  for  sailing, 
he  would  have  fought  me  there  and  then  ;  to  which 
J  could  only  answer,  that  I  was  ready  to  meet  him 


148  Westward  Ho! 

when  he  would ;  and  he  parted  from  me,  saying, 
'  It  is  a  pity,  sir,  I  cannot  fight  you  now ;  when 
next  we  meet,  it  will  be  beneath  my  dignity  to 
measure  swords  with  you.' 

"  I  suppose  he  expected  to  come  back  a  prince 
at  least  —  Heaven  knows ;  I  owe  him  no  ill-will, 
nor  I  hope  does  any  man.  He  has  paid  all  debts 
now  in  full,  and  got  his  receipt  for  them." 

"  How  did  he  die,  then,  after  all?  " 

"  On  his  voyage  he  touched  in  Portugal.  King 
Sebastian  was  just  sailing  for  Africa  with  his  new 
ally,  Mohammed  the  Prince  of  Fez,  to  help  King 
Abdallah,  and  conquer  what  he  could.  He  per- 
suaded Stukely  to  go  with  him.  There  were  those 
who  thought  that  he,  as  well  as  the  Spaniards,  had 
no  stomach  for  seeing  the  Pope's  son  King  of  Ire- 
land. Others  used  to  say  that  he  thought  an 
island  too  small  for  his  ambition,  and  must  needs 
conquer  a  continent —  I  know  not  xvhy  it  was,  but 
he  went.  They  had  heavy  weather  in  the  passage ; 
and  when  they  landed,  many  of  their  soldiers  were 
sea-sick.  Stukely,  reasonably  enough,  counselled 
that  they  should  wait  two  or  three  days  and  re- 
cruit; but  Don  Sebastian  was  so  mad  for  the 
assault  that  he  must  needs  have  his  venit  vidi,  vici; 
and  so  ended  with  a  veni,  vidit  peril ;  for  he 
Abdallah,  and  his  son  Mohammed,  all  perished  in 
the  first  battle  at  Alcasar ;  and  Stukely,  surrounded 
and  overpowered,  fought  till  he  could  fight  no 
more,  and  then  died  like  a  hero  with  all  his  wounds 
in  front ;  and  may  God  have  mercy  on  his  soul .'  " 

"  Ah !  "  said  Amyas,  "  we  heard  of  that  battle 
off  Lima,  but  nothing  about  poor  Stukely." 

"  That  last  was  a  Popish  prayer,  Master  Frank,1* 
said  old  Mr,  Gary. 


Clovelly  Court  in  the  Olden  Time     149 

"  Most  worshipful  sir,  you  surely  would  not  wish 
God  not  to  have  mercy  on  his  soul?  " 

"No  —  eh?  Of  course  not:  but  that's  all  set- 
tled by  now,  for  he  is  dead,  poor  fellow." 

41  Certainly,  my  dear  sir.  And  you  cannot  help 
being  a  little  fond  of  him  still." 

"  Eh  ?  why,  I  should  be  a  'brute  if  I  were  not. 
He  and  I  were  schoolfellows,  though  he  was  some- 
what the  younger;  and  many  a  good  thrashing 
have  I  given  him,  and  one  cannot  help  having  a 
tenderness  for  a  man  after  that  Beside,  we  used 
to  hunt  together  in  Exmoor,  and  have  royal  nights 
afterward  into  Ilfracombe,  when  we  were  a  couple 
of  mad  young  blades.  Fond  of  him?  Why,  I 
would  have  sooner  given  my  forefinger  than  that 
he  should  have  gone  to  the  dogs  thus." 

"  Then,  my  dear  sir,  if  you  feel  for  him  still,  in 
spite  of  all  his  faults,  how  do  you  know  that  God 
may  not  feel  for  him  still,  in  spite  of  all  his  faults  ? 
For  my  part,"  quoth  Frank,  in  his  fanciful  way, 
"without  believing  in  that  Popish  Purgatory,  I 
cannot  help  holding  with  Plato,  that  such  heroical 
souls,  who  have  wanted  but  little  of  true  greatness, 
are  hereafter  by  some  strait  discipline  brought  to 
a  better  mind;  perhaps,  as  many  ancients  have 
held  with  the  Indian  Gymnosophists,  by  transmi- 
gration into  the  bodies  of  those  animals  whom 
they  have  resembled  in  their  passions ;  and  indeed, 
if  Sir  Thomas  Stukely's  soul  should  now  animate 
the  body  of  a  lion,  all  I  can  say  is  that  he  would 
be  a  very  valiant  and  royal  lion ;  and  also  doubt- 
less become  in  due  time  heartily  ashamed  and 
penitent  for  having  been  nothing  better  than  a 
lion." 

"  What   now,  Master   Frank?     I  don't  trouble 


150  Westward  Ho! 

my  head  with  such  matters  —  I  say  Stukely  was  a 
right  good-hearted  fellow  at  bottom ;  and  if  you 
plague  my  head  with  any  of  your  dialectics,  and 
propositions,  and  college  quips  and  quiddities, 
you  sha'n't  have  any  more  sack,  sir.  But  here 
come  the  knaves,  and  I  hear  the  cook  knock  to 
dinner." 

After  a  madrigal  or  two,  and  an  Italian  song  of 
Master  Frank's,  all  which  went  sweetly  enough, 
the  ladies  rose,  and  went.  Whereon  Will  Gary, 
drawing  his  chair  close  to  Frank's,  put  quietly  into 
his  hand  a  dirty  letter. 

"  This  was  the  letter  left  for  me,"  whispered  he, 
"  by  a  country  fellow  this  morning.  Look  at  it 
and  tell  me  what  I  am  to  do." 

Whereon  Frank  opened,  and  read  — 

"  Mister  Gary,  be  you  wary 

By  deer  park  end  to-night 

Yf  Irish  ffoxe  com  out  of  rocks 

Grip  and  hold  hym  tight." 

"  I  would  have  showed  it  my  father,"  said  Will, 
"but " 

"  I  verily  believe  it  to  be  a  blind.  See  now,  this 
is  the  handwriting  of  a  man  who  has  been  trying  to 
write  vilely,  and  yet  cannot.  Look  at  that  B,  and 
that  G ;  their  formes  formativce  never  were  begot- 
ten in  a  hedge-school.  And  what  is  more,  this  is 
no  Devon  man's  handiwork.  We  say  '  to  '  and  not 
'by/  Will,  eh?  in  the  West  country?" 

"  Of  course." 

"  And  '  man/  instead  of '  him  '  ?  " 

"True,  O  Daniel!  But  am  I  to  do  nothing 
therefore?" 

"  On  that  matter  I  am  no  judge.     Let  us  ask 


Clovelly  Court  in  the  Olden  Time     151 

much-enduring  Ulysses  here ;  perhaps  he  has  not 
sailed  round  the  world  without  bringing  home  a 
device  or  two." 

Whereon  Amyas  was  called  to  counsel,  as  soon 
as  Mr.  Gary  could  be  stopped  in  a  long  cross- 
examination  of  him  as  to  Mr.  Doughty's  famous 
trial  and  execution. 

Amyas  pondered  awhile,  thrusting  his  hands 
into  his  long  curls ;  and  then  — 

"  Will,  my  lad,  have  you  been  watching  at  the 
Deer  Park  End  of  late?" 

"  Never." 

"Where,  then?" 

"  At  the  town-beach." 

"Where  else?" 

"  At  the  town-head." 

"Where  else?" 

"Why,  the  fellow  is  turned  lawyer!  Above 
Freshwater." 

"  Where  is  Freshwater?  " 

"  Why,  where  the  water-fall  comes  over  the  cliff, 
half-a-mile  from  the  town.  There  is  a  path  there 
up  into  the  forest." 

"  I  know.  I  '11  watch  there  to-night.  Do  you 
keep  all  your  old  haunts  safe,  of  course,  and  send 
a  couple  of  stout  knaves  to  the  mill,  to  watch  the 
beach  at  the  Deer  Park  End,  on  the  chance ;  for 
your  poet  may  be  a  true  man,  after  all.  But  my 
heart's  faith  is,  that  this  comes  just  to  draw  you 
off  from  some  old  beat  of  yours,  upon  a  wild- 
goose  chase.  If  they  shoot  the  miller  by  mistake, 
I  suppose  it  don't  much  matter?" 

"  Marry,  no. 

"«  When  a  miller  's  knock'd  on  the  head, 

The  less  of  flour  make*  the  more  of  bread.* " 


152  Westward  Ho ! 

"  Or,  again,"  chimed  in  old  Mr.  Gary,  "  as  they 
say  in  the  North  — 

" '  Find  a  miller  that  will  not  steal, 
Or  a  webster  that  is  leal, 
Or  a  priest  that  is  not  greedy, 
And  lay  them  three  a  dead  corpse  by ; 
And  by  the  virtue  of  them  three, 
The  said  dead  corpse  shall  quicken'd  be.'  " 

"  But  why  are  you  so  ready  to  watch  Freshwater 
to-night,  Master  Amyas  ?  " 

"  Because,  sir,  those  who  come,  if  they  come, 
will  never  land  at  Mouthmill;  if  they  are 
strangers,  they  dare  not;  and  if  they  are  bay's- 
men,  they  are  too  wise,  as  long  as  the  westerly 
swell  sets  in.  As  for  landing  at  the  town,  that 
would  be  too  great  a  risk;  but  Freshwater  is  as 
lonely  as  the  Bermudas;  and  they  can  beach  a 
boat  up  under  the  cliff  at  all  tides,  and  in  all 
weathers,  except  north  and  nor 'west.  I  have 
done  it  many  a  time,  when  I  was  a  boy." 

"And  give  us  the  fruit  of  your  experience  now 
in  your  old  age,  eh?  Well,  you  have  a  gray 
head  on  green  shoulders,  my  lad;  and  I  verily 
believe  you  are  right.  Who  will  you  take  with 
you  to  watch  ?  " 

"Sir,"  said  Frank,  "I  will  go  with  my  brother; 
and  that  will  be  enough. " 

"Enough?  He  is  big  enough,  and  you  brave 
enough,  for  ten;  but  still,  the  more  the  merrier." 

"But  the  fewer,  the  better  fare.  If  I  might 
ask  a  first  and  last  favor,  worshipful  sir,"  said 
Frank,  very  earnestly,  "you  would  grant  me  two 
things :  that  you  would  let  none  go  to  Freshwater 
but  me  and  my  brother;  and  that  whatsoever  we 
shall  bring  you  back  shall  be  kept  as  secret  as  the 


Clovelly  Court  in  the  Olden  Time     153 

commonweal  and  your  loyalty  shall  permit.  I 
trust  that  we  are  not  so  unknown  to  you,  or  to 
others,  that  you  can  doubt  for  a  moment  but  that 
whatsoever  we  may  do  will  satisfy  at  once  your 
honor  and  our  own." 

"My  dear  young  gentleman,  there  is  no  need 
of  so  many  courtier's  words.  I  am  your  father's 
friend,  and  yours.  And  God  forbid  that  a  Gary  — 
for  I  guess  your  drift  —  should  ever  wish  to  make 
a  head  or  a  heart  ache ;  that  is,  more  than " 

"  Those  of  whom  it  is  written,  '  Though  thou 
bray  a  fool  in  a  mortar,  yet  will  not  his  folly 
depart  from  him/  "  interposed  Frank,  in  so  sad  a 
tone  that  no  one  at  the  table  replied;  and  few 
more  words  were  exchanged,  till  the  two  brothers 
were  safe  outside  the  house ;  and  then  — 

"Amyas, "  said  Frank,  "that  was  a  Devon 
man's  handiwork,  nevertheless;  it  was  Eustace's 
handwriting." 

"Impossible!" 

"  No,  lad.  I  have  been  secretary  to  a  prince, 
and  learnt  to  interpret  cipher,  and  to  watch  every 
pen-stroke;  and,  young  as  I  am,  I  think  that  I 
am  not  easily  deceived.  Would  God  I  were! 
Come  on,  lad;  and  strike  no  man  hastily,  lest 
thou  cut  off  thine  own  flesh." 

So  forth  the  two  went,  along  the  park  to  the 
eastward,  and  past  the  head  of  the  little  wood- 
embosomed  fishing-town,  a  steep  stair  of  houses 
clinging  to  the  cliff  far  below  them,  the  bright 
slate  roofs  and  white  walls  glittering  in  the 
moonlight;  and  on  some  half-mile  farther,  along 
the  steep  hill-side,  fenced  with  oak  wood  down  to 
the  water's  edge,  by  a  narrow  forest  path,  to  a 
point  where  two  glens  meet  and  pour  their  stream- 


154  Westward  Ho ! 

lets  over  a  cascade  some  hundred  feet  in  height 
into  the  sea  below.  By  the  side  of  this  waterfall 
a  narrow  path  climbs  upward  from  the  beach ;  and 
here  it  was  that  the  two  brothers  expected  to  meet 
the  messenger. 

Frank  insisted  on  taking  his  station  below 
Amyas.  He  said  that  he  was  certain  that  Eustace 
himself  would  make  his  appearance,  and  that  he 
was  more  fit  than  Amyas  to  bring  him  to  reason 
by  parley ;  that  if  Amyas  would  keep  watch  some 
twenty  yards  above,  the  escape  of  the  messenger 
would  be  impossible.  Moreover,  he  was  the 
elder  brother,  and  the  post  of  honor  was  his 
right.  So  Amyas  obeyed  him,  after  making  him 
promise  that  if  more  than  one  man  came  up  the 
path,  he  would  let  them  pass  him  before  he  chal- 
lenged, so  that  both  might  bring  them  to  bay  at 
the  same  time. 

So  Amyas  took  his  station  under  a  high  marl 
bank,  and,  bedded  in  luxuriant  crown-ferns,  kept 
his  eye  steadily  on  Frank,  who  sat  down  on  a 
little  knoll  of  rock  (where  is  now  a  garden  on  the 
cliff-edge)  which  parts  the  path  and  the  dark 
chasm  down  which  the  stream  rushes  to  its  final 
leap  over  the  cliff. 

There  Amyas  sat  a  full  half-hour,  and  glanced 
at  whiles  from  Frank  to  look  upon  the  scene 
around.  Outside  the  southwest  wind  blew  fresh 
and  strong,  and  the  moonlight  danced  upon  a 
thousand  crests  of  foam;  but  within  the  black 
jagged  point  which  sheltered  the  town,  the  sea 
did  but  heave,  in  long  oily  swells  of  rolling 
silver,  onward  into  the  black  shadow  of  the  hills, 
within  which  the  town  and  pier  lay  invisible, 
save  where  a  twinkling  light  gave  token  of  some 


Clovelly  Court  in  the  Olden  Time     155 

lonely  fisher's  wife,  watching  the  weary  night 
through  for  the  boat  which  would  return  with 
dawn.  Here  and  there  upon  the  sea,  a  black 
speck  marked  a  herring-boat,  drifting  with  its 
line  of  nets;  and  right  off  the  mouth  of  the 
glen,  Amyas  saw,  with  a  beating  heart,  a  large 
two-masted  vessel  lying-to  —  that  must  be  the 
"  Portugal  "  !  Eagerly  he  looked  up  the  glen,  and 
listened ;  but  he  heard  nothing  but  the  sweeping 
of  the  wind  across  the  downs  five  hundred  feet 
above,  and  the  sough  of  the  waterfall  upon  the 
rocks  below ;  he  saw  nothing  but  the  vast  black 
sheets  of  oak-wood  sloping  up  to  the  narrow  blue 
sky  above,  and  the  broad  bright  hunter's  moon, 
and  the  woodcocks,  which,  chuckling  to  each 
other,  hawked  to  and  fro,  like  swallows,  between 
the  tree-tops  and  the  sky. 

At  last  he  heard  a  rustle  of  the  fallen  leaves; 
he  shrank  closer  and  closer  into  the  darkness  of 
the  bank.  Then  swift  light  steps  —  not  down 
the  path,  from  above,  but  upward,  from  below; 
his  heart  beat  quick  and  loud.  And  in  another 
half-minute  a  man  came  in  sight,  within  three 
yards  of  Frank's  hiding-place. 

Frank  sprang  out  instantly.  Amyas  saw  his 
bright  blade  glance  in  the  clear  October  moon- 
light 

"  Stand  in  the  queen's  name ! " 

The  man  drew  a  pistol  from  under  his  cloak, 
and  fired  full  in  his  face.  Had  it  happened  in 
these  days  of  detonators,  Frank's  chance  had 
been  small;  but  to  get  a  ponderous  wheel-lock 
under  weigh  was  a  longer  business,  and  before 
the  fizzing  of  the  flint  had  ceased,  Frank  had 
struck  up  the  pistol  with  his  rapier,  and  it  exploded 


156  Westward  Ho! 

harmlessly  over  his   head.     The  man  instantly 
dashed  the  weapon  in  his  face  and  closed. 

The  blow,  luckily,  did  not  take  effect  on  that 
delicate  forehead,  but  struck  him  on  the  shoulder: 
nevertheless,  Frank,  who  with  all  his  grace  and 
agility  was  as  fragile  as  a  lily,  and  a  very  bubble 
of  the  earth,  staggered,  and  lost  his  guard,  and 
before  he  could  recover  himself,  Amyas  saw  a 
dagger  gleam,  and  one,  two,  three  blows  -fiercely 
repeated. 

Mad  with  fury,  he  was  with  them  in  an  instant. 
They  were  scuffling  together  so  closely  in  the 
shade  that  he  was  afraid  to  use  his  sword  point; 
but  with  the  hilt  he  dealt  a  single  blow  full  on 
the  ruffian's  cheek.  It  was  enough ;  with  a 
hideous  shriek,  the  fellow  rolled  over  at  his  feet, 
and  Amyas  set  his  foot  on  him,  in  act  to  run  him 
through. 

"  Stop !  stay ! "  almost  screamed  Frank ;  "  it  is 
Eustace!  our  cousin  Eustace!"  and  he  leant 
against  a  tree. 

Amyas  sprang  towards  him :  but  Frank  waved 
him  off. 

"It  is  nothing  —  a  scratch.  He  has  papers:  I 
am  sure  of  it.  Take  them;  and  for  God's  sake 
let  him  go!" 

"Villain !  give  me  your  papers !  "  cried  Amyas, 
setting  his  foot  once  more  on  the  writhing 
Eustace,  whose  jaw  was  broken  across. 

"You  struck  me  foully  from  behind,"  moaned 
he,  his  vanity  and  envy  even  then  coming  out,  in 
that  faint  and  foolish  attempt  to  prove  Amyas  not 
!  so  very  much  better  a  man. 

"Hound,  do  you  think  that  I  dare  not  strike 
you  in  front?  Give  me  your  papers,  letters, 


Clovelly  Court  in  the  Olden  Time     157 

whatever  Popish  devilry  you  carry;  or  as  I  live, 
I  will  cut  off  your  head,  and  take  them  myself, 
even  if  it  cost  me  the  shame  of  stripping  your 
corpse.  Give  them  up !  Traitor,  murderer !  give 
them,  I  say!"  And  setting  his  foot  on  him 
afresh,  he  raised  his  sword. 

Eustace  was  usually  no  craven :  but  he  was 
cowed.  Between  agony  and  shame,  he  had  no 
heart  to  resist.  Martyrdom,  which  looked  so 
splendid  when  consummated  selon  les  regies  on 
Tower  Hill  or  Tyburn,  before  pitying,  or  (still 
better)  scoffing  multitudes,  looked  a  confused, 
dirty,  ugly  business  there  in  the  dark  forest ;  and 
as  he  lay,  a  stream  of  moonlight  bathed  his  mighty 
cousin's  broad  clear  forehead,  and  his  long  golden 
locks,  and  his  white  terrible  blade,  till  he  seemed, 
to  Eustace's  superstitious  eye,  like  one  of  those 
fair  young  St.  Michaels  trampling  on  the  fiend, 
which  he  had  seen  abroad  in  old  German  pictures. 
He  shuddered ;  pulled  a  packet  from  his  bosom, 
and  threw  it  from  him,  murmuring,  "  I  have  not 
given  it." 

"Swear  to  me  that  these  are  all  the  papers 
which  you  have  in  cipher  or  out  of  cipher.  Swear 
on  your  soul,  or  you  die ! " 

Eustace  swore. 

"Tell  me,  who  are  your  accomplices?" 

"  Never !  "  said  Eustace.  "  Cruel !  have  you 
not  degraded  me  enough  already  ? "  and  the 
wretched  young  man  burst  into  tears,  and  hid 
his  bleeding  face  in  his  hands. 

One  hint  of  honor  made  Amyas  as  gentle  as  a 
lamb.  He  lifted  Eustace  up,  and  bade  him  run 
for  his  life. 

"I  am  to  owe  my  life,  then,  to  you?" 


158  Westward  Ho! 

"Not  in  the  least;  only  to  your  being  a  Leigh. 
Go,  or  it  will  be  worse  for  you!"  And  Eustace 
went;  while  Amyas,  catching  up  the  precious 
packet,  hurried  to  Frank.  He  had  fainted  already, 
and  his  brother  had  to  carry  him  as  far  as  the 
park  before  he  could  find  any  of  the  other 
watchers.  The  blind,  as  far  as  they  were  con- 
cerned, was  complete.  They  had  heard  and  seen 
nothing.  Whosoever  had  brought  the  packet  had 
landed  they  knew  not  where;  and  so  all  returned 
to  the  court,  carrying  Frank,  who  recovered 
gradually,  having  rather  bruises  than  wounds; 
for  his  foe  had  struck  wildly,  and  with  a  trembling 
hand. 

Half-an-hour  after,  Amyas,  Mr.  Gary,  and  his 
son  Will  were  in  deep  consultation  over  the  fol- 
lowing epistle,  the  only  paper  in  the  packet 
which  was  not  in  cipher:  — 

"*    DEAR  BROTHER  N.    S.  in  Chto- et  Ecclesia. 

"  This  is  to  inform  you  and  the  friends  of  the  cause, 
that  S.  Josephus  has  landed  in  Smerwick,  with  eight 
hundred  valiant  Crusaders,  burning  with  holy  zeal  to 
imitate  last  year's  martyrs  of  Carrigfolium,  and  to  ex- 
piate their  offences  (which  I  fear  may  have  been  many) 
by  the  propagation  of  our  most  holy  faith.  I  have  puri- 
fied the  fort  (which  they  are  strenuously  rebuilding) 
with  prayer  and  holy  water,  from  the  stain  of  heretical 
footsteps,  and  consecrated  it  afresh  to  the  service  of 
Heaven,  as  the  first-fruits  of  the  isle  of  saints ;  and  hav- 
ing displayed  the  consecrated  banner  to  the  adoration 
of  the  faithful,  have  returned  to  Earl  Desmond,  that  I  - 
may  establish  his  faith,  weak  as  yet,  by  reason  of  the 
allurements  of  this  world :  though  since,  by  the  valor 
of  his  brother  James,  he  that  hindered  was  taken  out 
of  the  way  (I  mean  Davils  the  heretic,  sacrifice  well- 


Clovelly  Court  in  the  Olden  Time     159 

pleasing  in  the  eyes  of  Heaven  !  ) ,  the  young  man  has 
lent  a  more  obedient  ear  to  my  counsels.  If  you  can 
do  anything,  do  it  quickly,  for  a  great  door  and  effec- 
tual is  opened,  and  there  are  many  adversaries.  But 
be  swift,  for  so  do  the  poor  lambs  of  the  Church  tremble 
at  the  fury  of  the  heretics,  that  a  hundred  will  flee  before 
one  Englishman.  And,  indeed,  were  it  not  for  that 
divine  charity  toward  the  Church  (which  covers  the 
multitude  of  sins)  with  which  they  are  resplendent, 
neither  they  nor  their  country  would  be,  by  the  carnal 
judgment,  counted  worthy  of  so  great  labor  in  their 
behalf.  For  they  themselves  are  given  much  to  lying, 
theft,  and  drunkenness,  vain  babbling,  and  profane 
dancing  and  singing ;  and  are  still,  as  S.  Gildas  reports 
of  them,  '  more  careful  to  shroud  their  villainous  faces 
in  bushy  hair,  than  decently  to  cover  their  bodies; 
while  their  land  (by  reason  of  the  tyranny  of  their 
chieftains,  and  the  continual  wars  and  plunderings 
among  their  tribes,  which  leave  them  weak  and  divided, 
an  easy  prey  to  the  myrmidons  of  the  excommunicate 
and  usurping  Englishwoman)  lies  utterly  waste  with  fire, 
and  defaced  with  corpses  of  the  starved  and  slain.  But 
what  are  these  things,  while  the  holy  virtue  of  Catholic 
obedience  still  flourishes  in  their  hearts?  The  Church 
cares  not  for  the  conservation  of  body  and  goods, 
but  of  immortal  souls. 

"  If  any  devout  lady  shall  so  will,  you  may  obtain 
from  her  liberality  a  shirt  for  this  worthless  tabernacle, 
and  also  a  pair  of  hose ;  for  I  am  unsavory  to  myself 
and  to  others,  and  of  such  luxuries  none  here  has 
superfluity ;  for  all  live  in  holy  poverty,  except  the 
fleas,  who  have  that  consolation  in  this  world  for 
which  this  unhappy  nation,  and  those  who  labor 
among  them,  must  wait  till  the  world  to  come.1 
"Your  loving  brother, 

«N.  S." 
1  See  note  at  end  of  chapter. 


160  Westward  Ho! 

"Sir  Richard  must  know  of  this  before  day- 
break," cried  old  Gary.  "Eight  hundred  men 
landed!  We  must  call  out  the  Posse  Comitatus, 
and  sail  with  them  bodily.  I  will  go  myself,  old 
as  I  am.  Spaniards  in  Ireland?  not  a  dog  of 
them  must  go  home  again." 

"Not  a  dog  of  them,"  answered  Will;  "but 
where  is  Mr.  Winter  and  his  squadron?" 

"Safe  in  Milford  Haven;  a  messenger  must 
be  sent  to  him  too." 

"  I  '11  go,"  said  Amyas :  "  but  Mr.  Gary  is  right. 
Sir  Richard  must  know  all  first. " 

"And  we  must  have  those  Jesuits." 

"What?  Mr.  Evans  and  Mr.  Morgans?  God 
help  us  —  they  are  at  my  uncle's!  Consider  the 
honor  of  our  family ! " 

"Judge  for  yourself,  my  dear  boy,"  said  old 
Mr.  Gary,  gently:  "would  it  not  be  rank  treason 
to  let  these  foxes  escape,  while  we  have  this 
damning  proof  against  them  ?  " 

"I  will  go  myself,  then." 

"Why  not?  You  may  keep  all  straight,  and 
Will  shall  go  with  you.  Call  a  groom,  Will, 
and  get  your  horse  saddled,  and  my  Yorkshire 
gray;  he  will  make  better  play  with  this  big 
fellow  on  his  back,  than  the  little  pony  astride  of 
which  Mr.  Leigh  came  walking  in  (as  I  hear) 
this  morning.  As  for  Frank,  the  ladies  will  see 
to  him  well  enough,  and  glad  enough,  too,  to  have 
so  fine  a  bird  in  their  cage  for  a  week  or  two." 

"  And  my  mother  ? " 

"We'll  send  to  her  to-morrow  by  daybreak. 
Come,  a  stirrup  cup  to  start  with,  hot  and  hot. 
Now,  boots,  cloaks,  swords,  a  deep  pull  and  a 
warm  one,  and  away!" 


Clovelly  Court  in  the  Olden  Time     161 

And  the  jolly  old  man  bustled  them  out  of  the 
house  and  into  their  saddles,  under  the  broad 
bright  winter's  moon. 

"  You  must  make  your  pace,  lads,  or  the  moon 
will  be  down  before  you  are  over  the  moors." 
And  so  away  they  went. 

Neither  of  them  spoke  for  many  a  mile.  Amyas, 
because  his  mind  was  fixed  firmly  on  the  one 
object  of  saving  the  honor  of  his  house;  and 
Will,  because  he  was  hesitating  between  Ireland 
and  the  wars,  and  Rose  Salterne  and  love-making. 
At  last  he  spoke  suddenly. 

"I '11  go,  Amyas." 

"Whither?" 

"To  Ireland  with  you,  old  man.  I  have 
dragged  my  anchor  at  last." 

"  What  anchor,  my  lad  of  parables  ? " 

"See,  here  am  I,  a  tall  and  gallant  ship." 

"  Modest  even  iT  not  true. " 

"Inclination,  like  an  anchor,  holds  me  tight." 

"To  the  mud." 

"  Nay,  to  a  bed  of  roses  —  not  without  their 
thorns." 

"  Hillo !  I  have  seen  oysters  grow  on  fruit-trees 
before  now,  but  never  an  anchor  in  a  rose- 
garden.  " 

"Silence,  or  my  allegory  will  go  to  noggin- 
staves.  " 

"Against  the  rocks  of  my  flinty  discernment." 

"  Pooh  —  well.  Up  comes  duty  like  a  jolly 
breeze,  blowing  dead  from  the  northeast,  and 
as  bitter  and  cross  as  a  northeaster  too,  and 
tugs  me  away  toward  Ireland.  I  hold  on  by  the 
rosebed  —  any  ground  in  a  storm  —  till  every 
strand  is  parted,  and  off  I  go,  westward  ho!  to 

VoL&-8 


1 62  Westward  Ho  ! 

get  my  throat  cut  in  a  bog-hole  with  Amyas 
Leigh." 

"Earnest,  Will?" 

"As  I  am  a  sinful  man." 

"Well  done,  young  hawk  of  the  White  Cliff  I" 

"I  had  rather  have  called  it  Gallantry  Bower 
still,  though,"  said  Will,  punning  on  the  double 
name  of  the  noble  precipice  which  forms  the 
highest  point  of  the  deer  park. 

"Well,  as  long  as  you  are  on  land,  you  know  it 
is  Gallantry  Bower  still :  but  we  always  call  it 
White  Cliff  when  you  see  it  from  the  sea-board, 
as  you  and  I  shall  do,  I  hope,  to-morrow  evening. " 

"What,  so  soon?" 

"  Dare  we  lose  a  day  ? " 

"  I  suppose  not :  heigh-ho ! " 

And  they  rode  on  again  in  silence,  Amyas  in 
the  meanwhile  being  not  a  little  content  (in  spite 
of  his  late  self-renunciation)  tb  find  that  one  of 
his  rivals  at  least  was  going  to  raise  the  siege  of 
the  Rose  garden  for  a  few  months,  and  withdraw 
his  forces  to  the  coast  of  Kerry. 

As  they  went  over  Bursdon,  Amyas  pulled  up 
suddenly. 

"Did  you  not  hear  a  horse's  step  on  our 
left?" 

"  On  our  left  —  coming  up  from  Welsford  moor  ? 
Impossible  at  this  time  of  night.  It  must  have 
been  a  stag,  or  a  sownder  of  wild  swine :  or  may 
be  only  an  old  cow. " 

"  It  was  the  ring  of  iron,  friend.  Let  us  stand 
and  watch." 

Bursdon  and  Welsford  were  then,  as  now,  a 
rolling  range  of  dreary  moors,  unbroken  by  tor  or 
tree,  or  anything  save  few  and  far  between  a 


Clovelly  Court  in  the  Olden  Time     163 

world-old  furze-bank  which  marked  the  common 
rights  of  some  distant  cattle  farm,  and  crossed 
then,  not  as  now,  by  a  decent  road,  but  by  a  rough 
confused  track-way,  the  remnant  of  an  old  Roman 
road  from  Clovelly  dikes  to  Launceston.  To  the 
left  it  trended  down  towards  a  lower  range  of 
moors,  which  form  the  watershed  of  the  heads  of 
Torridge;  and  thither  the  two  young  men  peered 
down  over  the  expanse  of  bog  and  furze,  which 
glittered  for  miles  beneath  the  moon,  one  sheet 
of  frosted  silver,  in  the  heavy  autumn  dew. 

"If  any  of  Eustace's  party  are  trying  to  get 
home  from  Freshwater,  they  might  save  a  couple 
of  miles  by  coming  across  Welsford,  instead  of 
going  by  the  main  track,  as  we  have  done. "  So 
said  Amyas,  who  though  (luckily  for  him)  no 
"genius,"  was  cunning  as  a  fox  in  all  matters  of 
tactic  and  practic,  and  would  have  in  these  days 
proved  his  right  to  be  considered  an  intellectual 
person  by  being  a  thorough  man  of  business. 

"If  any  of  his  party  are  mad,  they  '11  try  it,  and 
be  stogged  till  the  day  of  judgment.  There  are 
bogs  in  the  bottom  twenty  feet  deep.  Plague 
on  the  fellow,  whoever  he  is,  he  has  dodged  us ! 
Look  there ! " 

It  was  too  true.  The  unknown  horseman  had 
evidently  dismounted  below,  and  led  his  horse  up 
on  the  other  side  of  a  long  furze-dike;  till  coming 
to  the  point  where  it  turned  away  again  from  his 
intended  course,  he  appeared  against  the  sky,  in 
the  act  of  leading  his  nag  over  a  gap. 

"  Ride  like  the  wind ! "  and  both  youths  galloped 
across  furze  and  heather  at  him ;  but  ere  they 
were  within  a  hundred  yards  of  him,  he  had  leapt 
again  on  his  horse,  and  was  away  far  ahead. 


164  Westward  Ho! 

"There  is  the  dor  to  us,  with  a  vengeance," 
cried  Gary,  putting  in  the  spurs. 

"It  is  but  a  lad;  we  shall  never  catch  him." 

"I  '11  try,  though;  and  do  you  lumber  after  as 
you  can,  old  heavysides ; "  and  Gary  pushed 
forward. 

Amyas  lost  sight  of  him  for  ten  minutes,  and 
then  came  up  with  him  dismounted,  and  feeling 
disconsolately  at  his  horse's  knees. 

"  Look  for  my  head.  It  lies  somewhere  about 
among  the  furze  there;  and  oh!  I  am  as  full  of 
needles  as  ever  was  a  pin-cushion." 

"Are  his  knees  broken?  " 

"I  daren't  look.  No,  I  believe  not.  Come 
along,  and  make  the  best  of  a  bad  matter.  The 
fellow  is  a  mile  ahead,  and  to  the  right,  too." 

"He  is  going  for  Moorwinstow,  then;  but 
where  is  my  cousin  ? " 

"  Behind  us,  I  dare  say.  We  shall  nab  him  at 
least." 

"  Gary,  promise  me  that  if  we  do,  you  will  keep 
out  of  sight,  and  let  me  manage  him." 

"My  boy,  I  only  want  Evan  Morgans  and 
Morgan  Evans.  He  is  but  the  cat's  paw,  and  we 
are  after  the  cats  themselves. " 

And  so  they  went  on  another  dreary  six  miles, 
till  the  land  trended  downwards,  showing  dark 
glens  and  masses  of  woodland  far  below. 

"Now,  then,  straight  to  Chapel,  and  stop  the 
foxes'  earth?  Or  through  the  King's  Park  to 
Stow,  and  get  out  Sir  Richard's  hounds,  hue  and 
cry,  and  queen's  warrant  in  proper  form  ? " 

"  Let  us  see  Sir  Richard  first ;  and  whatsoever 
he  decides  about  my  uncle,  I  will  endure  as  a 
loyal  subject  must." 


Clovelly  Court  in  the  Olden  Time     165 

So  they  rode  through  the  King's  Park,  while 
Sir  Richard's  colts  came  whinnying  and  staring 
round  the  intruders,  and  down  through  a  rich 
woodland  lane  five  hundred  feet  into  the  valley, 
till  they  could  hear  the  brawling  of  the  little 
trout-stream,  and  beyond,  the  everlasting  thunder 
of  the  ocean  surf. 

Down  through  warm  woods,  all  fragrant  with 
dying  autumn  flowers,  leaving  far  above  the  keen 
Atlantic  breeze,  into  one  of  those  delicious 
Western  combes,  and  so  past  the  mill,  and  the 
little  knot  of  flower-clad  cottages.  In  the  window 
of  one  of  them  a  light  was  still  burning.  The 
two  young  men  knew  well  whose  window  that 
was ;  and  both  hearts  beat  fast ;  for  Rose  Salterne 
slept,  or  rather  seemed  to  wake,  in  that  chamber. 

"Folks  are  late  in  Combe  to-night,"  said 
Amyas,  as  carelessly  as  he  could. 

Gary  looked  earnestly  at  the  window,  and  then 
sharply  enough  at  Amyas ;  but  Amyas  was  busy 
settling  his  stirrup;  and  Gary  rode  on,  uncon- 
scious that  every  fibre  in. his  companion's  huge 
frame  was  trembling  like  his  own. 

"Muggy  and  close  down  here,"  said  Amyas, 
who,  in  reality,  was  quite  faint  with  his  own 
inward  struggles. 

"We  shall  be  at  Stow  gate  in  five  minutes," 
said  Gary,  looking  back  and  down  longingly  as 
his  horse  climbed  the  opposite  hill;  but  a  turn  of 
the  zigzag  road  hid  the  cottage,  and  the  next 
thought  was,  how  to  effect  an  entrance  into  Stow 
at  three  in  the  morning  without  being  eaten  by 
the  ban-dogs,  who  were  already  howling  and 
growling  at  the  sound  of  the  horse-hoofs. 

However,  they  got  safely  in,  after  much  knock- 


1 66  Westward  Ho  ! 

ing  and  calling,  through  the  postern-gate  in  the 
high  west  wall,  into  a  mansion,  the  description 
whereof  I  must  defer  to  the  next  chapter,  seeing 
that  the  moon  has  already  sunk  into  the  Atlantic, 
and  there  is  darkness  over  land  and  sea. 

Sir  Richard,  in  his  long  gown,  was  soon  down- 
stairs in  the  hall ;  the  letter  read,  and  the  story 
told;  but  ere  it  was  half  finished  — 

"Anthony,  call  up  a  groom,  and  let  him  bring 
me  a  horse  round.  Gentlemen,  if  you  will  excuse 
me  five  minutes,  I  shall  be  at  your  service." 

"You  will  not  go  alone,  Richard?"  asked 
Lady  Grenville,  putting  her  beautiful  face  in  its 
nightcoif  out  of  an  adjoining  door. 

"  Surely,  sweet  chuck,  we  three  are  enough  to 
take  two  poor  polecats  of  Jesuits.  Go  in,  and 
help  me  to  boot  and  gird." 

In  half  an  hour  they  were  down  and  up  across 
the  valley  again,  under  the  few  low  ashes  clipt 
flat  by  the  sea-breeze  which  stood  round  the 
lonely  gate  of  Chapel. 

"Mr.  Gary,  there  is  a  back  path  across  the 
downs  to  Marsland;  go  and  guard  that."  Gary 
rode  off;  and  Sir  Richard,  as  he  knocked  loudly 
at  the  gate  — 

"  Mr.  Leigh,  you  see  that  I  have  consulted 
your  honor,  and  that  of  your  poor  uncle,  by 
adventuring  thus  alone.  What  will  you  have  me 
do  now,  which  may  not  be  unfit  for  me  and 
you?" 

"  Oh,  sir ! "  said  Amyas,  with  tears  in  his 
honest  eyes,  "you  have  shown  yourself  once 
more  what  you  always  have  been  —  my  dear  and 
beloved  master  on  earth,  not  second  even  to  my 
admiral  Sir  Francis  Drake." 


Clovelly  Court  in  the  Olden  Time     167 

"Or  the  queen,  I  hope,"  said  Grenville,  smil- 
ing, " but poc as palabras.  What  will  you  do?  " 

"My  wretched  cousin,  sir,  may  not  have  re- 
turned —  and  if  I  might  watch  for  him  on  the 
main  road  —  unless  you  want  me  with  you." 

"  Richard  Grenville  can  walk  alone,  lad.  But 
what  will  you  do  with  your  cousin  ? " 

"  Send  him  out  of  the  country,  never  to  return ; 
or  if  he  refuses,  run  him  through  on  the  spot." 

"Go,  lad."  And  as  he  spoke,  a  sleepy  voice 
asked  inside  the  gate,  "  Who  was  there  ? " 

"Sir  Richard  Grenville.  Open,  in  the  queen's 
name  ? " 

"Sir  Richard?  He  is  in  bed,  and  be  hanged 
to  you.  No  honest  folk  come  at  this  hour  of 
night." 

"  Amyas  ! "  shouted  Sir  Richard.  Amyas  rode 
back. 

"Burst  that  gate  for  me,  while  I  hold  your 
horse." 

Amyas  leaped  down,  took  up  a  rock  from  the 
roadside,  such  as  Homer's  heroes  used  to  send  at 
each  other's  heads,  and  in  an  instant  the  door 
was  flat  on  the  ground,  and  the  serving-man  on 
his  back  inside,  while  Sir  Richard  quietly  enter- 
ing over  it,  like  Una  into  the  hut,  told  the  fellow 
to  get  up  and  hold  his  horse  for  him  (which  the 
clod,  who  knew  well  enough  that  terrible  voice, 
did  without  further  murmurs),  and  then  strode 
straight  to  the  front  door.  It  was  already 
opened.  The  household  had  been  up  and  about 
all  along,  or  the  noise  at  the  entry  had  aroused 
them. 

Sir  Richard  knocked,  however,  at  the  open 
door;  and,  to  his  astonishment,  his  knock  was 


1 68  Westward  Ho! 

answered  by  Mr.  Leigh  himself,  fully  dressed, 
and  candle  in  hand. 

"  Sir  Richard  Grenville !  What,  sir !  is  this 
neighborly,  not  to  say  gentle,  to  break  into  my 
house  in  the  dead  of  night?  " 

"  I  broke  your  outer  door,  sir,  because  I  was 
refused  entrance  when  I  asked  in  the  queen's 
name.  I  knocked  at  your  inner  one,  as  I  should 
have  knocked  at  the  poorest  cottager's  in  the 
parish,  because  I  found  it  open.  You  have  two 
Jesuits  here,  sir!  and  here  is  the  queen's  warrant 
for  apprehending  them.  I  have  signed  it  with 
my  own  hand,  and,  moreover,  serve  it  now,  with 
my  own  hand,  in  order  to  save  you  scandal  —  and 
it  may  be,  worse.  I  must  have  these  men,  Mr. 
Leigh." 

"  My  dear  Sir  Richard ! " 

"  I  must  have  them,  or  I  must  search  the  house ; 
and  you  would  not  put  either  yourself  or  me  to 
so  shameful  a  necessity?" 

"  My  dear  Sir  Richard ! " 

"  Must  I,  then,  ask  you  to  stand  back  from  your 
own  doorway,  my  dear  sir  ? "  said  Grenville.  And 
then  changing  his  voice  to  that  fearful  lion's 
roar,  for  which  he  was  famous,  and  which  it 
seemed  impossible  that  lips  so  delicate  could 
utter,  he  thundered,  "Knaves,  behind  there! 
Back!" 

This  was  spoken  to  half-a-dozen  grooms  and 
serving-men,  who,  well  armed,  were  clustered  in 
the  passage. 

"  What  ?  swords  out,  you  sons  of  cliff  rabbits  ?  " 
And  in  a  moment,  Sir  Richard's  long  blade  flashed 
out  also,  and  putting  Mr.  Leigh  gently  aside,  as 
if  he  had  been  a  child,  he  walked  up  to  the  party, 


Clovelly  Court  in  the  Olden  Time     169 

who  vanished  right  and  left;  having  expected  a 
cur  dog,  in  the  shape  of  a  parish  constable,  and 
come  upon  a  lion  instead.  They  were  stout 
fellows  enough,  no  doubt,  in  a  fair  fight :  but  they 
had  no  stomach  to  be  hanged  in  a  row  at  Launces- 
ton  Castle,  after  a  preliminary  running  through 
the  body  by  that  redoubted  admiral  and  most 
unpeaceful  justice  of  the  peace. 

"And  now,  my  dear  Mr.  Leigh,"  said  Sir 
Richard,  as  blandly  as  ever,  "where  are  my 
men?  The  night  is  cold;  and  you,  as  well  as 
I,  need  to  be  in  our  beds." 

"The  men,  Sir  Richard  —  the  Jesuits  —  they 
are  not  here,  indeed." 

"Not  here,  sir?" 

"On  the  word  of  a  gentleman,  they  left  my 
house  an  hour  ago.  Believe  me,  sir,  they  did.  I 
will  swear  to  you  if  you  need." 

"I  believe  Mr.  Leigh  of  Chapel's  word  without 
oaths.  .Whither  are  they  gone?  " 

"Nay,  sir  —  how  can  I  tell?  They  are  —  they 
are,  as  I  may  say,  fled,  sir;  escaped." 

"With  your  connivance;  at  least  with  your 
son's.  Where  are  they  gone?  " 

"As  I  live,  I  do  not  know." 

"Mr.  Leigh  —  is  this  possible?  Can  you  add 
untruth  to  that  treason  from  the  punishment  of 
which  I  am  trying  to  shield  you?" 

Poor  Mr.  Leigh  burst  into  tears. 

"Oh!  my  God!  my  God!  is  it  come  to  this? 
Over  and  above  having  the  fear  and  anxiety  of 
keeping  these  black  rascals  in  my  house,  and 
having  to  stop  their  villainous  mouths  every 
minute,  for  fear  they  should  hang  me  and  them- 
selves, I  am  to  be  called  a  traitor  and  a  liar  in  ray 


Westward  Ho  ! 

old  age,  and  that,  too,  by  Richard  Grenville! 
Would  God  I  had  never  been  born !  Would  God 
I  had  no  soul  to  be  saved,  and  I  'd  just  go  and 
drown  care  in  drink,  and  let  the  queen  and  the 
Pope  fight  it  out  their  own  way !  "  And  the  poor 
old  man  sank  into  a  chair,  and  covered  his  face 
with  his  hands,  and  then  leaped  up  again. 

"  Bless  my  heart !  Excuse  me,  Sir  Richard  — 
to  sit  down  and  leave  you  standing.  'S  life,  sir, 
sorrow  is  making  a  hawbuck  of  me.  Sit  down, 
my  dear  sir !  my  worshipful  sir !  or  rather  come 
with  me  into  my  room,  and  hear  a  poor  wretched 
man's  story,  for  I  swear  before  God  the  men  are 
fled ;  and  my  poor  boy  Eustace  is  not  home  either, 
and  the  groom  tells  me  that  his  devil  of  a  cousin 
has  broken  his  jaw  for  him;  and  his  mother  is 
all  but  mad  this  hour  past.  Good  lack !  good 
lack !  " 

"He  nearly  murdered  his  angel  of  a  cousin, 
sir !  "  said  Sir  Richard,  severely. 

"  What,  sir  ?     They  never  told  me. " 

"  He  had  stabbed  his  cousin  Frank  three  times, 
sir,  before  Amyas,  who  is  as  noble  a  lad  as  walks 
God's  earth,  struck  him  down.  And  in  defence 
of  what,  forsooth,  did  he  play  the  ruffian  and  the 
swashbuckler,  but  to  bring  home  to  your  house 
this  letter,  sir,  which  you  shall  hear  at  your 
leisure,  the  moment  I  have  taken  order  about 
your  priests."  And  walking  out  of  the  house 
he  went  round  and  called  to  Gary  to  come  to 
him. 

"The  birds  are  flown,  Will,"  whispered  he. 
"There  is  but  one  chance  for  us,  and  that  is 
Marsland  Mouth.  If  they  are  trying  to  take  boat 
there,  you  may  be  yet  in  time.  If  they  are  gone 


Clovelly  Court  in  the  Olden  Time     171 

inland  we  can  do  nothing  till  we  raise  the  hue 
and  cry  to-morrow." 

And  Will  galloped  off  over  the  downs  toward 
Marsland,  while  Sir  Richard  ceremoniously  walked 
in  again,  and  professed  himself  ready  and  happy 
to  have  the  honor  of  an  audience  in  Mr.  Leigh's 
private  chamber.  And  as  we  know  pretty  well 
already  what  was  to  be  discussed  therein,  we  had 
better  go  over  to  Marsland  Mouth,  and,  if  pos- 
sible, arrive  there  before  Will  Gary:  seeing  that 
he  arrived  hot  and  swearing,  half  an  hour  too 
late. 

Note.  —  I  have  shrunk  somewhat  from  giving  these  and  other 
sketches  (true  and  accurate  as  I  believe  them  to  be)  of  Ireland 
during  Elizabeth's  reign,  when  the  tyranny  and  lawlessness  of  the 
feudal  chiefs  had  reduced  the  island  to  such  a  state  of  weakness 
and  barbarism,  that  it  was  absolutely  necessary  for  England  either 
to  crush  the  Norman-Irish  nobility,  and  organize  some  sort  of 
law  and  order,  or  to  leave  Ireland  an  easy  prey  to  the  Spaniards, 
or  any  other  nation  which  should  go  to  war  with  us.  The  work 
was  done  —  clumsily  rather  than  cruelly ;  but  wrongs  were  in- 
flicted, and  avenged  by  fresh  wrongs,  and  those  by  fresh  again. 
May  the  memory  of  them  perish  forever  I  It  has  been  reserved 
for  this  age,  and  for  the  liberal  policy  of  this  age,  to  see  the  last 
ebullitions  of  Celtic  excitability  die  out  harmless  and  ashamed  of 
itself,  and  to  find  that  the  Irishman,  when  he  is  brought  as  a  sol- 
dier under  the  regenerative  influence  of  law,  discipline,  self-respect, 
and  loyalty,  can  prove  himself  a  worthy  rival  of  the  more  stern 
Norse-Saxon  warrior.  God  grant  that  the  military  brotherhood 
between  Irish  and  English,  which  is  the  special  glory  of  the  pres- 
ent war,  may  be  the  germ  of  a  brotherhood  industrial,  political, 
and  hereafter,  perhaps,  religious  also;  and  that  not  merely  the 
corpses  of  heroes,  but  the  feuds  and  wrongs  which  have  parted 
them  for  centuries,  may  lie  buried,  once  and  forever,  iu  the  noble 
graves  of  Alma  and  Inkerman. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  COMBES   OF  THE  FAR  WEST 

"  Far,  far  from  hence 
The  Adriatic  breaks  in  a  warm  bay 
Among  the  green  Illyrian  hills,  and  there 
The  sunshine  in  the  happy  glens  is  fair, 
And  by  the  sea  and  in  the  brakes 
The  grass  is  cool,  the  sea-side  air 
Buoyant  and  fresh,  the  mountain  flowers 
More  virginal  and  sweet  than  ours." 

MATTHEW  ARNOLD. 

AND  even  such  are  those  delightful  glens, 
which  cut  the  high  table-land  of  the  con- 
fines of  Devon  and  Cornwall,  and  opening  each 
through  its  gorge  of  down  and  rock,  towards  the 
boundless  Western  Ocean.  Each  is  like  the 
other,  and  each  is  like  no  other  English  scenery. 
Each  has  its  upright  walls,  inland  of  rich  oak- 
wood,  nearer  the  sea  of  dark  green  furze,  then  of 
smooth  turf,  then  of  weird  black  cliffs  which 
range  out  right  and  left  far  into  the  deep  sea,  in 
castles,  spires,  and  wings  of  jagged  iron-stone. 
Each  has  its  narrow  strip  of  fertile  meadow,  its 
crystal  trout  stream  winding  across  and  across 
from  one  hill-foot  to  the  other;  its  gray  stone 
mill,  with  the  water  sparkling  and  humming 
round  the  dripping  wheel;  its  dark,  rock  pools 
above  the  tide  mark,  where  the  salmon-trout 


The  Combes  of  the  Far  West      173 

gather  in  from  their  Atlantic  wanderings,  after 
each  autumn  flood :  its  ridge  of  blown  sand, 
bright  with  golden  trefoil  and  crimson  lady's 
finger;  its  gray  bank  of  polished  pebbles,  down 
which  the  stream  rattles  toward  the  sea  below. 
Each  has  its  black  field  of  jagged  shark's-tooth 
rock  which  paves  the  cove  from  side  to  side, 
streaked  with  here  and  there  a  pink  line  of  shell 
sand,  and  laced  with  white  foam  from  the  eternal 
surge,  stretching  in  parallel  lines  out  to  the  west- 
ward, in  strata  set  upright  on  edge,  or  tilted 
towards  each  other  at  strange  angles  by  primeval 
earthquakes ;  —  such  is  the  "  mouth  "  —  as  those 
coves  are  called ;  and  such  the  jaw  of  teeth  which 
they  display,  one  rasp  of  which  would  grind 
abroad  the  timbers  of  the  stoutest  ship.  To 
landward,  all  richness,  softness,  and  peace;  to 
seaward,  a  waste  and  howling  wilderness  of  rock 
and  roller,  barren  to  the  fisherman,  and  hopeless 
to  the  shipwrecked  mariner. 

Irr  only  one  of  these  "  mouths  "  is  a  landing 
for  boats,  made  possible  by  a  long  sea-wall  of 
rock,  which  protects  it  from  the  rollers  of  the 
Atlantic;  and  that  mouth  is  Marsland,  the  abode 
of  the  White  Witch,  Lucy  Passmore;  whither,  as 
Sir  Richard  Grenville  rightly  judged,  the  Jesuits 
were  gone.  But  before  the  Jesuits  came,  two 
other  persons  were  standing  on  that  lonely  beach, 
under  the  bright  October  moon,  namely,  Rose 
Salterne  and  the  White  Witch  herself ;  for  Rose, 
fevered  with  curiosity  and  superstition,  and  allured 
by  the  very  wildness  and  possible  danger  of  the 
spell,  had  kept  her  appointment;  and,  a  few 
minutes  before  midnight,  stood  on  the  gray 
shingle  beach  with  her  counsellor. 


1 74  Westward  Ho  ! 

"  You  be  safe  enough  here  to-night,  miss.  My 
old  man  is  snoring  sound  abed,  and  there  's  no 
other  soul  ever  sets  foot  here  o'  nights,  except 
it  be  the  mermaids  now  and  then.  Goodness, 
Father,  where 's  our  boat?  It  ought  to  be  up 
here  on  the  pebbles." 

Rose  pointed  to  a  strip  of  sand  some  forty  yards 
nearer  the  sea,  where  the  boat  lay. 

"  Oh,  the  lazy  old  villain  !  he  's  been  round  the 
rocks  after  pollock  this  evening,  and  never  taken 
the  trouble  to  hale  the  boat  up.  I  '11  trounce  him 
for  it  when  I  get  home.  I  only  hope  he 's  made 
her  fast  where  she  is,  that 's  all !  He 's  more 
plague  to  me  than  ever  my  money  will  be.  O 
deary  me !  " 

And  the  goodwife  bustled  down  toward  the 
boat,  with  Rose  behind  her. 

"  Iss,  't  is  fast,  sure  enough :  and  the  oars  aboard 
too  !  Well,  I  never !  Oh,  the  lazy  thief,  to  leave 
they  here  to  be  stole !  I  '11  just  sit  in  the  boat, 
dear,  and  watch  mun,  while  you  go  down  to  the 
say;  for  you  must  be  all  alone  to  yourself,  you 
know,  or  you  '11  see  nothing.  There  's  the  look- 
ing-glass ;  now  go,  and  dip  your  head  three  times, 
and  mind  you  don't  look  to  land  or  sea  before 
you  've  said  the  words,  and  looked  upon  the  glass. 
Now,  be  quick,  it 's  just  upon  midnight." 

And  she  coiled  herself  up  in  the  boat,  while 
Rose  went  faltering  down  the  strip  of  sand,  some 
twenty  yards  farther,  and  there  slipping  off  her 
clothes,  stood  shivering  and  trembling  for  a  mo- 
ment before  she  entered  the  sea. 

She  was  between  two  walls  of  rock :  that  on  her 
left  hand,  some  twenty  feet  high,  hid  her  in  deep- 
est shade ;  that  on  her  right,  though  much  lower, 


The  Combes  of  the  Far  West      175 

took  the  whole  blaze  of  the  midnight  moon. 
Great  festoons  of  live  and  purple  sea-weed  hung 
from  it,  shading  dark  cracks  and  crevices,  fit 
haunts  for  all  the  goblins  of  the  sea.  On  her 
left  hand,  the  peaks  of  the  rock  frowned  down 
ghastly  black;  on  her  right  hand,  far  aloft,  the 
downs  slept  bright  and  cold. 

The  breeze  had  died  away;  not  even  a  roller 
broke  the  perfect  stillness  of  the  cove.  The  gulls 
were  all  asleep  upon  the  ledges.  Over  all  was  a 
true  autumn  silence;  a  silence  which  may  be 
heard.  She  stood  awed,  and  listened  in  hope  of 
a  sound  which  might  tell  her  that  any  living  thing 
beside  herself  existed. 

There  was  a  faint  bleat,  as  of  a  new-born  lamb, 
high  above  her  head ;  she  started  and  looked  up. 
Then  a  wail  from  the  cliffs,  as  of  a  child  in  pain, 
answered  by  another  from  the  opposite  rocks. 
They  were  but  the  passing  snipe,  and  the  otter 
calling  to  her  brood ;  but  to  her  they  were  mys- 
terious, supernatural  goblins,  come  to  answer  to 
her  call.  Nevertheless,  they  only  quickened  her 
expectation ;  and  the  witch  had  told  her  not  to 
fear  them.  If  she  performed  the  rite  duly,  noth- 
ing would  harm  her :  but  she  could  hear  the  beat- 
ing of  her  own  heart,  as  she  stepped,  mirror  in 
hand,  into  the  cold  water,  waded  hastily,  as  far  as 
she  dare,  and  then  stopped  aghast. 

A  ring  of  flame  was  round  her  waist;  every 
limb  was  bathed  in  lambent  light;  all  the  multi- 
tudinous life  of  the  autumn  sea,  stirred  by  her 
approach,  had  flashed  suddenly  into  glory;  — 

"And  around  her  the  lamps  of  the  sea  nymphs, 
Myriad  fiery  globes,  swam  heaving  and  panting,  and  rain- 
bows, 


1 76  Westward  Ho  ! 

Crimson  and  azure  and  emerald,  were  broken  in  star- 
showers,  lighting 

Far  through  the  wine-dark  depths  of  the  crystal,  the  gardens 
of  Nereus, 

Coral  and  sea-fan  and  tangle,  the  blooms  and  the  palms  of 
the  ocean." 

She  could  see  every  shell  which  crawled  on  the 
white  sand  at  her  feet,  every  rock-fish  which  played 
in  and  out  of  the  crannies,  and  stared  at  her  with 
its  broad  bright  eyes;  while  the  great  palmate 
oarweeds  which  waved  along  the  chasm,  half-seen 
in  the  glimmering  water,  seemed  to  beckon  her 
down  with  long  brown  hands  to  a  grave  amid 
their  chilly  bowers.  She  turned  to  flee ;  but  she 
had  gone  too  far  now  to  retreat ;  hastily  dipping 
her  head  three  times,  she  hurried  out  to  the  sea- 
marge,  and  looking  through  her  dripping  locks  at 
the  magic  mirror,  pronounced  the  incantation  — 

"  A  maiden  pure,  here  I  stand, 
Neither  on  sea,  nor  yet  on  land ; 
Angels  watch  me  on  either  hand. 
If  you  be  landsman,  come  down  the  strand; 
If  you  be  sailor,  come  up  the  sand  ; 
If  you  be  angel,  come  from  the  sky, 
Look  in  my  glass,  and  pass  me  by ; 
Look  in  my  glass,  and  go  from  the  shore; 
Leave  me,  but  love  me  for  evermore." 

The  incantation  was  hardly  finished,  her  eyes 
were  straining  into  the  mirror,  where,  as  may  be 
supposed,  nothing  appeared  but  the  sparkle  of 
the  drops  from  her  own  tresses,  when  she  heard 
rattling  down  the  pebbles  the  hasty  feet  of  men 
and  horses. 

She  darted  into  a  cavern  of  the  high  rock,  and 
hastily  dressed  herself:  the  steps  held  on  right  to 


The  Combes  of  the  Far  West      177 

the  boat.  Peeping  out,  half-dead  with  terror,  she 
saw  there  four  men,  two  of  whom  had  just  leaped 
from  their  horses,  and  turning  them  adrift,  began 
to  help  the  other  two  in  running  the  boat  down. 

Whereon,  out  of  the  stern  sheets,  arose,  like  an 
angry  ghost,  the  portly  figure  of  Lucy  Passmore, 
and  shrieked  in  shrillest  treble  — 

"  Eh !  ye  villains,  ye  roogs,  what  do  ye  want 
staling  poor  folks'  boats  by  night  like  this  ? " 

The  whole  party  recoiled  in  terror,  and  one 
turned  to  run  up  the  beach,  shouting  at  the  top 
of  his  voice,  " 'T  is  a  marmaiden  —  a  marmaiden 
asleep  in  Willy  Passmore's  boat !  " 

"  I  wish  it  were  any  sich  good  luck,"  she  could 
hear  Will  say;  "'tis  my  wife,  oh  dear!"  and  he 
cowered  down,  expecting  the  hearty  cuff  which  he 
received  duly,  as  the  White  Witch,  leaping  out  of 
the  boat,  dared  any  man  to  touch  it,  and  thundered 
to  her  husband  to  go  home  to  bed. 

The  wily  dame,  as  Rose  well  guessed,  was  keep- 
ing up  this  delay  chiefly  to  gain  time  for  her  pupil: 
but  she  had  also  more  solid  reasons  for  making  the 
fight  as  hard  as  possible ;  for  she,  as  well  as  Rose, 
had  already  discerned  in  the  ungainly  figure  of  one 
of  the  party  the  same  suspicious  Welsh  gentleman, 
on  whose  calling  she  had  divined  long  ago ;  and 
she  was  so  loyal  a  subject  as  to  hold  in  extreme 
horror  her  husband's  meddling  with  such  "  Popish 
skulkers  "  (as  she  called  the  whole  party  roundly 
to  their  face)  —  unless  on  consideration  of  a  very 
handsome  sum  of  money.  In  vain  Parsons  thun- 
dered, Campian  entreated,  Mr.  Leigh's  groom 
swore,  and  her  husband  danced  round  in  an 
agony  of  mingled  fear  and  covetousness. 

"No,"  she  cried,  "  as  I  am  an  honest  woman  and 


178  Westward  Ho! 

loyal !  This  is  why  you  left  the  boat  down  to  the 
shoore,  you  old  traitor,  you,  is  it?  To  help  off  sich 
noxious  trade  as  this  out  of  the  hands  of  her 
majesty's  quorum  and  rotulorum?  Eh?  Stand 
back,  cowards !  Will  you  strike  a  woman?" 

This  last  speech  (as  usual)  was  merely  indicative 
of  her  intention  to  strike  the  men ;  for,  getting  out 
one  of  the  oars,  she  swung  it  round  and  round 
fiercely,  and  at  last  caught  Father  Parsons  such  a 
crack  across  the  shins,  that  he  retreated  with  a 
howl. 

"  Lucy,  Lucy  ! "  shrieked  her  husband,  in  shrillest 
Devon  falsetto,  "  be  you  mazed?  Be  you  mazed, 
lass?  They  promised  me  two  gold  nobles  before 
I  'd  lend  them  the  boot !  " 

"  Tu  ?  "  shrieked  the  matron,  with  a  tone  of  in- 
effable scorn.  "  And  do  yu  call  yourself  a  man  ?  " 

"Tu  nobles!  tu  nobles!"  shrieked  he  again, 
hopping  about  at  oar's  length. 

"Tu?  And  would  you  sell  your  soul  under 
ten?" 

"  Oh,  if  that  is  it,"  cried  poor  Campian,  "  give 
her  ten,  give  her  ten,  brother  Pars  —  Morgans,  I 
mean ;  and  take  care  of  your  shins,  Offa  Cerbero, 
you  know  —  Oh,  virago  !  Furens  quid  fcemina  pos- 
sit  /  Certainly  she  is  some  Lamia,  some  Gorgon, 
some " 

"  Take  that,  for  your  Lamys  and  Gorgons  to  an 
honest  woman  !  "  and  in  a  moment  poor  Campian's 
thin  legs  were  cut  from  under  him,  while  the  virago, 
"  mounting  on  his  trunk  astride,"  like  that  more 
famous  one  on  Hudibras,  cried,  "  Ten  nobles,  or 
I  '11  kep  ye  here  till  morning !  "  And  the  ten 
nobles  were  paid  into  her  hand. 

And  now  the  boat,  its  dragon  guardian  being 


The  Combes  of  the  Far  West      1 79 

pacified,  was  run  down  to  the  sea,  and  close  past 
the  nook  where  poor  little  Rose  was  squeezing 
herself  into  the  farthest  and  darkest  corner,  among 
wet  sea-weed  and  rough  barnacles,  holding  her 
breath  as  they  approached. 

They  passed  her,  and  the  boat's  keel  was  already 
in  the  water ;  Lucy  had  followed  them  close,  for 
reasons  of  her  own,  and  perceiving  close  to  the 
water's  edge  a  dark  cavern,  cunningly  surmised 
that  it  contained  Rose,  and  planted  her  ample 
person  right  across  its  mouth,  while  she  grumbled 
at  her  husband,  the  strangers,  and  above  all  at  Mr. 
Leigh's  groom,  to  whom  she  prophesied  pretty 
plainly  Launceston  gaol  and  the  gallows;  while 
the  wretched  serving-man,  who  would  as  soon 
have  dared  to  leap  off  Welcombe  Cliff  as  to 
return  railing  for  railing  to  the  White  Witch,  in 
vain  entreated  her  mercy,  and  tried,  by  all  pos- 
sible dodging,  to  keep  one  of  the  party  between 
himself  and  her,  lest  her  redoubted  eye  should 
"overlook"  him  once  more  to  his  ruin. 

But  the  night's  adventures  were  not  ended  yet ; 
for  just  as  the  boat  was  launched,  a  faint  halloo 
was  heard  upon  the  beach,  and  a  minute  after, 
a  horseman  plunged  down  the  pebbles,  and  along 
the  sand,  and  pulling  his  horse  up  on  its  haunches 
close  to  the  terrified  group,  dropped,  rather  than 
leaped,  from  the  saddle. 

The  serving-man,  though  he  dared  not  tackle  a 
witch,  knew  well  enough  how  to  deal  with  a 
swordsman;  and  drawing,  sprang  upon  the  new- 
comer, and  then  recoiled  — 

"God  forgive  me,  it's  Mr.  Eustace!  Oh,  dear 
sir,  I  took  you  for  one  of  Sir  Richard's  men  I  Oh, 
sir,  you  're  hurt !  " 


180  Westward  Ho! 

"A  scratch,  a  scratch ! "  almost  moaned  Eustace. 
"  Help  me  into  the  boat,  Jack.  Gentlemen,  I  must 
with  you." 

"  Not  with  us,  surely,  my  dear  son,  vagabonds 
upon  the  face  of  the  earth?"  said  kind-hearted 
Campian. 

"  With  you,  forever.  All  is  over  here.  Whither 
God  and  the  cause  lead "  —  and  he  staggered 
toward  the  boat. 

As  he  passed  Rose,  she  saw  his  ghastly  bleed- 
ing face,  half  bound  up  with  a  handkerchief,  which 
could  not  conceal  the  convulsions  of  rage,  shame, 
and  despair,  which  twisted  it  from  all  its  usual 
beauty.  His  eyes  glared  wildly  round  —  and  once, 
right  into  the  cavern.  They  met  hers,  so  full,  and 
keen,  and  dreadful,  that  forgetting  she  was  utterly 
invisible,  the  terrified  girl  was  on  the  point  of 
shrieking  aloud. 

"  He  has  overlooked  me  !  "  said  she,  shuddering 
to  herself,  as  she  recollected  his  threat  of  yester- 
day. 

"  Who  has  wounded  you?  "  asked  Campian. 

"  My  cousin  —  Amyas  —  and  taken  the  letter !  H 

"The  devil  take  him,  then!"  cried  Parsons, 
stamping  up  and  down  upon  the  sand  in  fury. 

"  Ay,  curse  him  —  you  may!  I  dare  not!  He 
saved  me  —  sent  me  here !  "  —  and  with  a  groan, 
he  made  an  effort  to  enter  the  boat. 

"  Oh,  my  dear  young  gentleman,"  cried  Lucy 
Passmore,  her  woman's  heart  bursting  out  at  the 
sight  of  pain,  "  you  must  not  goo  forth  with  a 
grane  wound  like  to  that.  Do  ye  let  me  just  bind 
mun  up  —  do  ye  now !  "  and  she  advanced. 

Eustace  thrust  her  back. 

"  No  !  better  bear  it.     I  deserve  it  —  devils !     I 


The  Combes  of  the  Far  West      181 

deserve  it !     On  board,  or  we  shall  all  be  lost  — 
William  Gary  is  close  behind  me  !  " 

And  at  that  news  the  boat  was  thrust  into  the 
sea,  faster  than  ever  it  went  before,  and  only  in 
time ;  for  it  was  but  just  round  the  rocks,  and  out 
of  sight,  when  the  rattle  of  Gary's  horsehoofs  was 
heard  above. 

"  That  rascal  of  Mr.  Leigh's  will  catch  it  now, 
the  Popish  villain !  "  said  Lucy  Passmore,  aloud. 
"You  lie  still  there,  dear  life,  and  settle  your 
sperrits ;  you  'm  so  safe  as  ever  was  rabbit  to 
burrow.  I  '11  see  what  happens,  if  I  die  for  it !  " 
And  so  saying,  she  squeezed  herself  up  through  a 
cleft  to  a  higher  ledge,  from  whence  she  could  see 
what  passed  in  the  valley. 

"There  mun  is !  in  the  meadow,  trying  to  catch 
the  horses !  There  comes  Mr.  Gary  !  Goodness, 
Father,  how  a  rid'th !  he 's  over  wall  already ! 
Ron,  Jack  !  ron  then  !  A  '11  get  to  the  river !  No, 
a  wain't !  Goodness,  Father  !  There 's  Mr.  Gary 
cotched  mun  !  A 's  down,  a 's  down  !  " 

"  Is  he  dead?  "  asked  Rose,  shuddering. 

"  Iss,  fegs,  dead  as  nits !  and  Mr.  Gary  off  his 
horse,  standing  overthwart  mun !  No,  a  bain't ! 
A 's  up  now.  Suspose  he  was  hit  wi'  the  flat. 
Whatever  is  Mr.  Gary  tu?  Telling  wi'  mun,  a  bit. 
Oh  dear,  dear,  dear !  ' 

"  Has  he  killed  him  ?  "  cried  poor  Rose. 

"  No,  fegs,  no !  kecking  mun,  kecking  mun,  so 
hard  as  ever  was  futeball !  Goodness,  Father, 
who  did  ever?  If  a  haven't  kecked  mun  right 
into  river,  and  got  on  mun's  horse  and  rod  away  !  " 

And  so  saying,  down  she  came  again. 

"  And  now  then,  my  dear  life,  us  be  better  to 
goo  hoom  and  get  you  sommat  warm.  You  'm 


1 82  Westward  Ho! 

mortal  cold,  I  rackon,  by  now.  I  was  cruel  fear'd 
for  ye :  but  I  kept  mun  off  clever,  did  n't  I,  now?  " 

"I  wish  —  I  wish  I  had  not  seen  Mr.  Leigh's 
face ! " 

"  Iss,  dreadful,  weren't  it,  poor  young  soul;  a 
sad  night  for  his  poor  mother  1  " 

"  Lucy,  I  can't  get  his  face  out  of  my  mind. 
I'm  sure  he  overlooked  me." 

"Oh  then!  who  ever  heard  the  like  o*  that? 
When  young  gentlemen  do  overlook  young  ladies, 
tain't  thikketheor  aways,  I  knoo.  Never  you  think 
on  it" 

"But  I  can't  help  thinking  of  it,"  said  Rose. 
"  Stop.  Shall  we  go  home  yet?  Where  's  that 
servant?" 

"  Never  mind,  he  wain't  see  us,  here  under  the 
hill.  I'd  much  sooner  to  know  where  my  old 
man  was.  I  Ve  a  sort  of  a  forecasting  in  my 
inwards,  like,  as  I  always  has  when  aught 's  gwain 
to  happen,  as  though  I  shuldn't  zee  mun  again, 
like,  I  have,  miss.  Well  —  he  was  a  bedient  old 
soul,  after  all,  he  was.  Goodness,  Father !  and  all 
this  while  us  have  forgot  the  very  thing  us  come 
about!  Who  did  you  see?" 

"  Only  that  face  !  "  said  Rose,  shuddering. 

"  Not  in  the  glass,  maid  ?  Say  then,  not  in  the 
glass?" 

"  Would  to  heaven  it  had  been  !  Lucy,  what  if 
he  were  the  man  I  was  fated  to " 

"He?  Why,  he's  a  praste,  a  Popish  praste, 
that  can't  marry  if  he  would,  poor  wratch." 

"  He  is  none ;  and  I  have  cause  enough  to  know 
it !  "  And,  for  want  of  a  better  confidant,  Rose 
poured  into  the  willing  ears  of  her  companion  the 
whole  story  of  yesterday's  meeting. 


The  Combes  of  the  Far  West      183 

"  He 's  a  pretty  wooer !  "  said  Lucy  at  last,  con- 
temptuously, "  Be  a  brave  maid,  then,  be  a  brave 
maid,  and  never  terrify  yourself  with  his  unlucky 
face.  It 's  because  there  was  none  here  worthy  of 
ye,  that  ye  seed  none  in  glass.  Maybe  he  's  to  be 
a  foreigner,  from  over  seas,  and  that's  why  his 
sperit  was  so  long  a  coming.  A  duke,  or  a  prince 
to  the  least,  I  '11  warrant,  he  '11  be,  that  carries  off 
the  Rose  of  Bideford." 

But  in  spite  of  all  the  good  dame's  flattery,  Rose 
could  not  wipe  that  fierce  face  away  from  her  eye- 
balls. She  reached  home  safely,  and  crept  to  bed 
undiscovered :  and  when  the  next  morning,  as  was 
to  be  expected,  found  her  laid  up  with  something 
very  like  a  fever,  from  excitement,  terror,  and 
cold,  the  phantom  grew  stronger  and  stronger 
before  her,  and  it  required  all  her  woman's  tact 
and  self-restraint  to  avoid  betraying  by  her  ex- 
clamations what  had  happened  on  that  fantastic 
night.  After  a  fortnight's  weakness,  however,  she 
recovered  and  went  back  to  Bideford :  but  ere  she 
arrived  there,  Amyas  was  far  across  the  seas  on 
his  way  to  Milford  Haven,  as  shall  be  told  in  the 
ensuing  chapters. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  TRUE  AND  TRAGICAL  HISTORY  OF  MR.  JOHN 
OXENHAM   OF  PLYMOUTH 

"  The  fair  breeze  blew,  the  white  foam  flew ; 

The  furrow  follow'd  free ; 
We  were  the  first  that  ever  burst 
Into  that  silent  sea." 

The  Ancient  Mariner. 

IT  was  too  late  and  too  dark  last  night  to  see  the 
old  house  at  Stow.  We  will  look  round  us, 
then,  this  bright  October  day,  while  Sir  Richard 
and  Amyas,  about  eleven  o'clock  in  the  forenoon, 
are  pacing  up  and  down  the  terraced  garden  to 
the  south.  Amyas  has  slept  till  luncheon,  i.  e.  till 
an  hour  ago :  but  Sir  Richard,  in  spite  of  the 
bustle  of  last  night,  was  up  and  in  the  valley  by 
six  o'clock,  recreating  the  valiant  souls  of  him- 
self and  two  terrier  dogs  by  the  chase  of  sundry 
badgers. 

Old  Stow  House  stands,  or  rather  stood,  some 
four  miles  beyond  the  Cornish  border,  on  the 
northern  slope  of  the  largest  and  loveliest  of  those 
combes  of  which  I  spoke  in  the  last  chapter. 
Eighty  years  after  Sir  Richard's  time  there  arose 
there  a  huge  Palladian  pile,  bedizened  with  every 
monstrosity  of  bad  taste,  which  was  built,  so  the 
story  runs,  by  Charles  the  Second,  for  Sir  Richard's 
great-grandson,  the  heir  of  that  famous  Sir  Bevil 
who  defeated  the  Parliamentary  troops  at  Stratton, 


History  of  Mr.  John  Oxenham      185 

and  died  soon  after,  fighting  valiantly  at  Lans- 
downe  over  Bath.  But,  like  most  other  things 
which  owed  their  existence  to  the  Stuarts,  it  rose 
only  to  fall  again.  An  old  man  who  had  seen,  as 
a  boy,  the  foundation  of  the  new  house  laid,  lived 
to  see  it  pulled  down  again,  and  the  very  bricks 
and  timber  sold  upon  the  spot;  and  since  then  the 
stables  have  become  a  farm-house,  the  tennis-court 
a  sheep-cote,  the  great  quadrangle  a  rick-yard; 
and  civilization,  spreading  wave  on  wave  so  fast 
elsewhere,  has  surged  back  from  that  lonely  cor- 
ner of  the  land  —  let  us  hope,  only  for  a  while. 

But  I  am  not  writing  of  that  great  new  Stow 
House,  of  the  past  glories  whereof  quaint  pictures 
still  hang  in  the  neighboring  houses;  nor  of  that 
famed  Sir  Bevil,  most  beautiful  and  gallant  of  his 
generation,  on  whom,  with  his  grandfather  Sir  Rich- 
ard, old  Prince  has  his  pompous  epigram  — 

"  Where  next  shall  famous  Grenvil's  ashes  stand  ? 
Thy  grandsire  fills  the  sea,  and  thou  the  land." 

I  have  to  deal  with  a  simpler  age,  and  a  sterner 
generation;  and  with  the  old  house,  which  had 
stood  there,  in  part  at  least,  from  gray  and  mythic 
ages,  when  the  first  Sir  Richard,  son  of  Hamon 
Dentatus,  Lord  of  Carboyle,  the  grandson  of  Duke 
Robert,  son  of  Rou,  settled  at  Bideford,  after  slay- 
ing the  Prince  of  South-Galis,  and  the  Lord  of 
Glamorgan,  and  gave  to  the  Cistercian  monks  of 
Neath  all  his  conquests  in  South  Wales.  It  was 
a  huge  rambling  building,  half  castle,  half  dwell- 
ing-house, such  as  may  be  seen  still  (almost  an 
unique  specimen)  in  Compton  Castle  near  Tor- 
quay, the  dwelling-place  of  Humphrey  Gilbert, 
Walter  Raleigh's  half-brother,  and  Richard  Gren- 

Vol.  8-9 


1 86  Westward  Ho! 

villa's  bosom  friend,  of  whom  more  hereafter.  On 
three  sides,  to  the  north,  west,  and  south,  the  lofty 
walls  of  the  old  ballium  still  stood,  with  their 
machicolated  turrets,  loopholes,  and  dark  down- 
ward crannies  for  dropping  stones  and  fire  on  the 
besiegers,  the  relics  of  a  more  unsettled  age :  but 
the  southern  court  of  the  ballium  had  become  a 
flower-garden,  with  quaint  terraces,  statues,  knots 
of  flowers,  clipped  yews  and  hollies,  and  all  the 
pedantries  of  the  topiarian  art.  And  toward  the 
east,  where  the  vista  of  the  valley  opened,  the  old 
walls  were  gone,  and  the  frowning  Norman  keep, 
ruined  in  the  Wars  of  the  Roses,  had  been  re- 
placed by  the  rich  and  stately  architecture  of  the 
Tudors.  Altogether,  the  house,  like  the  time,  was 
in  a  transitionary  state,  and  represented  faithfully 
enough  the  passage  of  the  old  middle  age  into  the 
new  life  which  had  just  burst  into  blossom  through- 
out Europe,  never,  let  us  pray,  to  see  its  autumn 
or  its  winter. 

From  the  house  on  three  sides,  the  hill  sloped 
steeply  down,  and  the  garden  where  Sir  Richard 
and  Amyas  were  walking  gave  a  truly  English 
prospect.  At  one  turn  they  could  catch,  over  the 
western  walls,  a  glimpse  of  the  blue  ocean  flecked 
with  passing  sails ;  and  at  the  next,  spread  far  be- 
low them,  range  on  range  of  fertile  park,  stately 
avenue,  yellow  autumn  woodland,  and  purple 
heather  moors,  lapping  over  and  over  each  other 
up  the  valley  to  the  old  British  earthwork,  which 
stood  black  and  furze-grown  on  its  conical  peak ; 
and  standing  out  against  the  sky  on  the  highest 
bank  of  hill  which  closed  the  valley  to  the  east,  the 
lofty  tower  of  Kilkhampton  church,  rich  with  the 
monuments  and  offerings  of  five  centuries  of  Gren- 


THE    SPANISH    ARMADA 

"The  first  appearance  of  the  Spanish  fleet 
off  the  Lizard  was  on  July  igth,  1588.  It  was 
pictured  on  one  of  the  contemporary  tapestry 
drawings  which  were  formerly  hung  in  the  old 
House  of  Lords,  where  they  were  burned  in 
1834.  These  tapestries  had  been  given  to  the 
House  of  Lords  by  James  I,  who  had  bought 
them  from  the  representatives  of  Lord  How- 
ard of  Effingham.  They  were  made  after  de- 
signs by  C.  Vroom  for  Lord  Howard,  and  were 
designed  to  satisfy  one  of  the  chief  actors  in 
the  events  they  depict.  They  are  therefore 
of  first-class  importance  in  helping  to  tell  the 
story  of  this  memorable  event." 

—"Westward  ffo!" 

The  rarity  of  these  drawings  may  be  judged 
from  the  fact  that  they  are  unknown  to  the 
Geographical  Society  of  New  York  and  to  the 
Public  Library  authorities.  They  are  now 
published  for  the  first  time  in  this  country. 


History  of  Mr.  John  Oxenham      187 

villes.  A  yellow  eastern  haze  hung  soft  over  park, 
and  wood,  and  moor ;  the  red  cattle  lowed  to  each 
other  as  they  stood  brushing  away  the  flies  in  the 
rivulet  far  below ;  the  colts  in  the  horse-park  close 
on  their  right  whinnied  as  they  played  together,  and 
their  sires  from  the  Queen's  Park,  on  the  opposite 
hill,  answered  them  in  fuller  though  fainter  voices. 
A  rutting  stag  made  the  still  woodland  rattle  with 
his  hoarse  thunder,  and  a  rival  far  up  the  valley 
gave  back  a  trumpet  note  of  defiance,  and  was 
himself  defied  from  heathery  brows  which  quivered 
far  away  above,  half  seen  through  the  veil  of  east- 
ern mist.  And  close  at  home,  upon  the  terrace 
before  the  house,  amid  romping  spaniels  and 
golden-haired  children,  sat  Lady  Grenville  herself, 
the  beautiful  St.  Leger  of  Annery,  the  central 
jewel  of  all  that  glorious  place,  and  looked  down 
at  her  noble  children,  and  then  up  at  her  more 
noble  husband,  and  round  at  that  broad  paradise 
of  the  West,  till  life  seemed  too  full  of  happiness, 
and  heaven  of  light. 

And  all  the  while  up  and  down  paced  Amyas 
and  Sir  Richard,  talking  long,  earnestly,  and  slow ; 
for  they  both  knew  that  the  turning  point  of  the 
boy's  life  was  come. 

"  Yes,"  said  Sir  Richard,  after  Amyas,  in  his 
blunt  simple  way,  had  told  him  the  whole  story 
about  Rose  Salt^rne  and  his  brother,  —  "  yes, 
sweet  lad,  thou  hast  chosen  the  better  part,  thou 
and  thy  brother  also,  and  it  shall  not  be  taken 
from  you.  Only  be  strong,  lad,  and  trust  in  God 
that  He  will  make  a  man  of  you." 

"  I  do  trust,"  said  Amyas. 

"  Thank  God,"  said  Sir  Richard,  "that  you  have 
yourself  taken  from  my  heart  that  which  was  my 


1 88  Westward  Ho! 

great  anxiety  for  you,  from  the  day  that  your  good 
father,  who  sleeps  in  peace,  committed  you  to  my 
hands.  For  all  best  things,  Amyas,  become,  when 
misused,  the  very  worst;  and  the  love  of  woman, 
because  it  is  able  to  lift  man's  soul  to  the  heavens, 
is  also  able  to  drag  him  down  to  hell.  But  you 
have  learnt  better,  Amyas;  and  know,  with  our 
old  German  forefathers,  that,  as  Tacitus  saith, 
Sera  juvenum  Venus,  ideoque  inexhausta  puber- 
tas.  And  not  only  that,  Amyas;  but  trust  me, 
that  silly  fashion  of  the  French  and  Italians,  to  be 
hanging  ever  at  some  woman's  apron  string,  so 
that  no  boy  shall  count  himself  a  man  unless  he 
can  vagghezziare  le  donne,  whether  maids  or  wives, 
alas !  matters  little ;  that  fashion,  I  say,  is  little 
less  hurtful  to  the  soul  than  open  sin;  for  by 
it  are  bred  vanity  and  expense,  envy  and  heart- 
burning, yea,  hatred  and  murder  often ;  and  even 
if  that  be  escaped,  yet  the  rich  treasure  of  a  manly 
worship,  which  should  be  kept  for  one  alone,  is 
squandered  and  parted  upon  many,  and  the  bride 
at  last  comes  in  for  nothing  but  the  very  last  leav- 
ings and  caput  ntortuum  of  her  bridegroom's  heart, 
and  becomes  a  mere  ornament  for  his  table,  and  a 
means  whereby  he  may  obtain  a  progeny.  May 
God,  who  has  saved  me  from  that  death  in  life, 
save  you  also !  "  And  as  he  spoke,  he  looked 
down  toward  his  wife  upon  the  terrace  below ;  and 
she,  as  if  guessing  instinctively  that  he  was  talking 
of  her,  looked  up  with  so  sweet  a  smile,  that  Sir 
Richard's  stern  face  melted  into  a  very  glory  of 
spiritual  sunshine. 

Amyas  looked  at  them  both  and  sighed;  and 
then  turning  the  conversation  suddenly  — 

"  And  I  may  go  to  Ireland  to-morrow?  " 


History  of  Mr.  John  Oxenham      189 

"  You  shall  sail  in  the  '  Mary '  for  Milford  Haven, 
with  these  letters  to  Winter.  If  the  wind  serves, 
you  may  bid  the  master  drop  down  the  river  to- 
night, and  be  off;  for  we  must  lose  no  time." 

"Winter?"  said  Amyas.  "He  is  no  friend  of 
mine,  since  he  left  Drake  and  us  so  cowardly  at 
the  Straits  of  Magellan." 

"  Duty  must  not  wait  for  private  quarrels,  even 
though  they  be  just  ones,  lad :  but  he  will  not  be 
your  general.  When  you  come  to  the  marshal,  or 
the  Lord  Deputy,  give  either  of  them  this  letter, 
and  they  will  set  you  work,  —  and  hard  work  too, 
J.  warrant." 

"  I  want  nothing  better." 

"  Right,  lad  ;  the  best  reward  for  having  wrought 
well  already,  is  to  have  more  to  do ;  and  he  that 
has  been  faithful  over  a  few  things,  must  find  his 
account  in  being  made  ruler  over  many  things. 
That  is  the  true  and  heroical  rest,  which  only  is 
worthy  of  gentlemen  and  sons  of  God.  As  for 
those  who,  either  in  this  world  or  the  world  to 
come,  look  for  idleness,  and  hope  that  God  shall 
feed  them  with  pleasant  things,  as  it  were  with  a 
spoon,  Amyas,  I  count  them  cowards  and  base, 
even  though  they  call  themselves  saints  and  elect." 

"  I  wish  you  could  persuade  my  poor  cousin  of 
that." 

"He  has  yet  to  learn  what  losing  his  life  to  save 
it  means,  Amyas.  Bad  men  have  taught  him 
(and  I  fear  these  Anabaptists  and  Puritans  at 
home  teach  little  else),  that  it  is  the  one  great 
business  of  every  one  to  save  his  own  soul  after 
he  dies;  every  one  for  himself;  and  that  that,  and 
not  divine  self-sacrifice,  is  the  one  thing  needful, 
and  the  better  part  which  Mary  chose." 


190  Westward  Ho! 

"  I  think  men  are  inclined  enough  already  to  be 
selfish,  without  being  taught  that." 

"  Right,  lad.  For  me,  if  I  could  hang  up  such  a 
teacher  on  high  as  an  enemy  of  mankind,  and  a 
corrupter  of  youth,  I  would  do  it  gladly.  Is  there 
not  cowardice  and  self-seeking  enough  about  the 
hearts  of  us  fallen  sons  of  Adam,  that  these  false 
prophets,  with  their  baits  of  heaven,  and  their 
terrors  of  hell,  must  exalt  our  dirtiest  vices  into 
heavenly  virtues  and  the  means  of  bliss  ?  Farewell 
to  chivalry  and  to  desperate  valor,  farewell  to  pa- 
triotism and  loyalty,  farewell  to  England  and  to 
the  manhood  of  England,  if  once  it  shall  become 
the  fashion  of  our  preachers  to  bid  every  man, 
as  the  Jesuits  do,  take  care  first  of  what  they  call 
the  safety  of  his  soul.  Every  man  will  be  afraid  to 
die  at  his  post,  because  he  will  be  afraid  that  he  is 
not  fit  to  die.  Amyas,  do  thou  do  thy  duty  like  a 
man,  to  thy  country,  thy  queen,  and  thy  God; 
and  count  thy  life  a  worthless  thing,  as  did  the 
holy  men  of  old.  Do  thy  work,  lad ;  and  leave 
thy  soul  to  the  care  of  Him  who  is  just  and  merci- 
ful in  this,  that  He  rewards  every  man  according 
to  his  work.  Is  there  respect  of  persons  with  God  ? 
Now  come  in,  and  take  the  letters,  and  to  horse. 
And  if  I  hear  of  thee  dead  there  at  Smerwick  fort, 
with  all  thy  wounds  in  front,  I  shall  weep  for  thy 
mother,  lad ;  but  I  shall  have~  never  a  sigh  for 
thee." 

If  any  one  shall  be  startled  at  hearing  a  fine 
gentleman  and  a  warrior  like  Sir  Richard  quote 
Scripture,  and  think  Scripture  also,  they  must  be 
referred  to  the  writings  of  the  time;  which  they 
may  read  not  without  profit  to  themselves,  if  they 
discover  therefrom  how  it  was  possible  then  fof 


History  of  Mr.  John  Oxenham      191 

men  of  the  world  to  be  thoroughly  ingrained  with 
the  Gospel,  and  yet  to  be  free  from  any  taint  of 
superstitious  fear,  or  false  devoutness.  The  reli- 
gion of  those  days  was  such  as  no  soldier  need 
have  been  ashamed  of  confessing.  At  least,  Sir 
Richard  died  as  he  lived,  without  a  shudder,  and 
without  a  whine;  and  these  were  his  last  words, 
fifteen  years  after  that,  as  he  lay  shot  through  and 
through,  a  captive  among  Popish  Spaniards,  priests, 
crucifixes,  confession,  extreme  unction,  and  all 
other  means  and  appliances  for  delivering  men  out 
of  the  hands  of  a  God  of  love :  — 

"  Here  die  I,  Richard  Grenville,  with  a  joyful  and 
quiet  mind ;  for  that  I  have  ended  my  life  as  a 
true  soldier  ought,  fighting  for  his  country,  queen, 
religion,  and  honor:  my  soul  willingly  departing 
from  this  body,  leaving  behind  the  lasting  fame  of 
having  behaved  as  every  valiant  soldier  is  in  his 
duty  bound  to  do." 

Those  were  the  last  words  of  Richard  Grenville. 
The  pulpits  of  those  days  had  taught  them  to  him. 

But  to  return.  That  day's  events  were  not  over 
yet.  For,  when  they  went  down  into  the  house, 
the  first  person  whom  they  met  was  the  old  stew- 
ard, in  search  of  his  master. 

"  There  is  a  manner  of  roog,  Sir  Richard,  a  mas- 
terless  man,  at  the  door;  a  very  forward  fellow, 
and  must  needs  speak  with  you." 

"  A  masterless  man  ?  He  had  better  not  to  speak 
to  me,  unless  he  is  in  love  with  gaol  and  gallows." 

"  Well,  your  worship,"  said  the  steward,  "  I  ex- 
pect that  is  what  he  does  want,  for  he  swears  he 
will  not  leave  the  gate  till  he  has  seen  you." 

"Seen  me?  Halidame !  he  shall  see  me,  here 
and  at  Launceston  too,  if  he  likes.  Bring  him  in." 


192  Westward  Ho ! 

"  Pegs,  Sir   Richard,  we  are  half  afeard,  with 

your  good  leave " 

"  Hillo,  Tony,"  cried  Amyas,  "  who  was  ever 
afeard  yet  with  Sir  Richard's  good  leave?" 
"  What,  has  the  fellow  a  tail  or  horns?" 
"  Massy  no :  but  I  be  afeard  of  treason  for  your 
honor ;  for  the  fellow  is  pinked  all  over  in  heathen 
patterns,  and  as  brown  as  a  filbert;  and  a  tall 
roog,  a  very  strong  roog,  sir,  and  a  foreigner  too, 
and  a  mighty  staff  with  him.  I  expect  him  to  be 
3.  manner  of  Jesuit,  or  wild  Irish,  sir;  and  indeed 
the  grooms  have  no  stomach  to  handle  him,  nor 
the  dogs  neither,  or  he  had  been  under  the  pump 
before  now,  for  they  that  saw  him  coming  up  the 
hill  swear  that  he  had  fire  coming  out  of  his 
mouth." 

"  Fire  out  of  his  mouth  ?  "  said  Sir  Richard. 
"The  men  are  drunk." 

"Pinked  all  over?  He  must  be  a  sailor,"  said 
Amyas ;  "  let  me  out  and  see  the  fellow,  and  if  he 

needs  putting  forth " 

"  Why,  I  dare  say  he  is  not  so  big  but  what  he 
will  go  into  thy  pocket.  So  go,  lad,  while  I  finish 
my  writing." 

Amyas  went  out,  and  at  the  back  door,  leaning 
on  his  staff,  stood  a  tall,  raw-boned,  ragged  man, 
"  pinked  all  over,"  as  the  steward  had  said. 

"  Hillo,  lad  !  "  quoth  Amyas.  "  Before  we  come 
to  talk,  thou  wilt  please  to  lay  down  that  Plymouth 
cloak  of  thine."  And  he  pointed  to  the  cudgel, 
which  among  West-country  mariners  usually  bore 
that  name. 

"I'll  warrant,"  said  the  old  steward,  "that 
where  he  found  his  cloak  he  found  purse  not  far 
off." 


History  of  Mr.  John  Oxcnham      193 

41  But  not  hose  or  doublet;  so  the  magical  virtue 
of  his  staff  has  not  helped  him  much.  But  put 
down  thy  staff,  man,  and  speak  like  a  Christian,  if 
thou  be  one." 

"  I  am  a  Christian,  though  I  look  like  a  heathen ; 
and  no  rogue,  though  a  masterless  man,  alas !  But 
I  want  nothing,  deserving  nothing,  and  only  ask 
to  speak  with  Sir  Richard,  before  I  go  on  my 
way." 

There  was  something  stately  and  yet  humble 
about  the  man's  tone  and  manner  which  attracted 
Amyas,  and  he  asked  more  gently  where  he  was 
going  and  whence  he  came. 

"  From  Padstow  Port,  sir,  to  Clovelly  town,  to 
see  my  old  mother,  if  indeed  she  be  yet  alive, 
which  God  knoweth." 

"  Clovally  man !  why  did  n't  thee  say  thee  was 
Clovally  man  ?  "  asked  all  the  grooms  at  once,  to 
whom  a  West-countryman  was  of  course  a  brother. 
The  old  steward  asked  — 

"  What's  thy  mother's  name,  then?" 

"  Susan  Yeo." 

"  What,  that  lived  under  the  archway  ?  "  asked 
a  groom. 

"Lived?"  said  the  man. 

"  Iss,  sure ;  her  died  three  days  since,  so  we 
heard,  poor  soul." 

The  man  stood  quite  silent  and  unmoved  for 
a  minute  or  two ;  and  then  said  quietly  to  himself, 
in  Spanish,  "  That  which  is,  is  best." 

"You  speak  Spanish?  "  asked  Amyas,  more  and 
more  interested. 

"  I  had  need  to  do  so,  young  sir ;  I  have  been 
five  years  in  the  Spanish  Main,  and  only  set  foot 
on  shore  two  days  ago ;  and  if  you  will  let  me 


194  Westward  Ho! 

have  speech  of  Sir  Richard,  I  will  tell  him  that  at 
which  both  the  ears  of  him  that  heareth  it  shall 
tingle ;  and  if  not,  I  can  but  go  on  to  Mr.  Gary  of 
Clovelly,  if  he  be  yet  alive,  and  there  disburden 
my  soul;  but  I  would  sooner  have  spoken  with 
one  that  is  a  mariner  like  to  myself." 

"  And  you  shall,"  said  Amyas.  "  Steward,  we 
will  have  this  man  in ;  for  all  his  rags,  he  is  a  man 
of  wit."  And  he  led  him  in. 

"  I  only  hope  he  be  n't  one  of  those  Popish  mur- 
derers," said  the  old  steward,  keeping  at  a  safe 
distance  from  him  as  they  entered  the  hall. 

"  Popish,  old  master?  There's  little  fear  of  my 
being  that.  Look  here  !  "  And  drawing  back  his 
rags,  he  showed  a  ghastly  scar,  which  encircled 
his  wrist  and  wound  round  and  up  his  fore-arm. 

"  I  got  that  on  the  rack,"  said  he,  quietly,  "  in 
the  Inquisition  at  Lima." 

"  O  Father  !  Father !  why  did  n't  you  tell  us  that 
you  were  a  poor  Christian?"  asked  the  penitent 
steward. 

"  Because  I  have  had  naught  but  my  deserts ;  and 
but  a  taste  of  them  either,  as  the  Lord  knoweth 
who  delivered  me ;  and  I  was  n't  going  to  make 
myself  a  beggar  and  a  show  on  their  account." 

"  By  heaven,  you  are  a  brave  fellow !  "  said 
Amyas.  "  Come  along  straight  to  Sir  Richard's 
room." 

So  in  they  went,  where  Sir  Richard  sat  in  his 
library  among  books,  despatches,  state-papers, 
and  warrants ;  for  though  he  was  not  yet,  as  in 
after  times  (after  the  fashion  of  those  days) 
admiral,  general,  member  of  parliament,  privy 
councillor,  justice  of  the  peace,  and  so  forth,  all  at 
once,  yet  there  were  few  great  men  with  whom  he 


History  of  Mr.  John  Oxenham      195 

did  not  correspond,  or  great  matters  with  which  he 
was  not  cognizant. 

"  Hillo,  Amyas,  have  you  bound  the  wild  man 
already,  and  brought  him  in  to  swear  allegiance  ?  " 

But  before  Amyas  could  answer,  the  man  looked 
earnestly  on  him  —  "Amyas?"  said  he;  "is  that 
your  name,  sir  ?  " 

"Amyas  Leigh  is  my  name,  at  your  service, 
good  fellow." 

"  Of  Burrough  by  Bideford  ?  " 

"  Why  then  ?     What  do  you  know  of  me  ?  " 

"Oh  sir,  sir!  young  brains  and  happy  ones 
have  short  memories ;  but  old  and  sad  brains  too 
long  ones  often!  Do  you  mind  one  that  was 
with  Mr.  Oxenham,  sir?  A  swearing  reprobate 
he  was,  God  forgive  him,  and  hath  forgiven  him 
too,  for  His  dear  Son's  sake  —  one,  sir,  that  gave 
you  a  horn,  a  toy  with  a  chart  on  it  ?  " 

"Soul  alive!"  cried  Amyas,  catching  him  by 
the  hand ;  "  and  are  you  he  ?  The  horn  ?  why,  I 
have  it  still,  and  will  keep  it  to  my  dying  day, 
too.  But  where  is  Mr.  Oxenham  ?  " 

"Yes,  my  good  fellow,  where  is  Mr.  Oxen- 
ham?"  asked  Sir  Richard,  rising.  "You  are 
somewhat  over-hasty  in  welcoming  your  old 
acquaintance,  Amyas,  before  we  have  heard  from 
him  whether  he  can  give  honest  account  of  him- 
self and  of  his  captain.  For  there  is  more  than 
one  way  by  which  sailors  may  come  home  with- 
out their  captains,  as  poor  Mr.  Barker  of  Bristol 
found  to  his  cost.  God  grant  that  there  may 
have  been  no  such  traitorous  dealing  here." 

"Sir  Richard  Grenville,  if  I  had  been  a  guilty 
man  to  my  noble  captain,  as  I  have  to  God,  I  had 
not  come  here  this  day  to  you,  from  whom  villainy 


1 96  Westward  Ho  ! 

has  never  found  favor,  nor  ever  will ;  for  I  know 
your  conditions  well,  sir ;  and  trust  in  the  Lord, 
that  if  you  will  be  pleased  to  hear  me,  you  shall 
know  mine." 

"Thou  art  a  well-spoken  knave.  We  shall 
see." 

"My  dear  sir,"  said  Amyas,  in  a  whisper,  "I 
will  warrant  this  man  guiltless." 

"I  verily  believe  him  to  be;  but  this  is  too 
serious  a  matter  to  be  left  on  guess.  If  he  will 
be  sworn " 

Whereon  the  man,  humbly  enough,  said,  that  if 
it  would  please  Sir  Richard,  he  would  rather  not 
be  sworn. 

"  But  it  does  not  please  me,  rascal !  Did  I  not 
warn  thee,  Amyas  ?  " 

"Sir,"  said  the  man,  proudly,  "God  forbid  that 
my  word  should  not  be  as  good  as  my  oath :  but 
it  is  against  my  conscience  to  be  sworn." 

"What  have  we  here?  some  fantastical  Ana- 
baptist, who  is  wiser  than  his  teachers." 

"  My  conscience,  sir " 

"The  devil  take  it  and  thee!  I  never  heard  a 
man  yet  begin  to  prate  of  his  conscience,  but  I 
knew  that  he  was  about  to  do  something  more 
than  ordinarily  cruel  or  false." 

"Sir,"  said  the  man,  coolly  enough,  "do  you 
sit  here  to  judge  me  according  to  law,  and  yet 
contrary  to  the  law  swear  profane  oaths,  for  which 
a  fine  is  provided  ?  " 

Amyas  expected  an  explosion :  but  Sir  Richard 
pulled  a  shilling  out  and  put  it  on  the  table. 
"  There  —  my  fine  is  paid,  sirrah,  to  the  poor  of 
Kilkhampton :  but  hearken  thou  all  the  same.  If 
thou  wilt  not  speak  an  oath,  thou  shalt  speak  on 


History  of  Mr.  John  Oxenham      197 

compulsion;  for  to  Launceston  gaol  thou  goest, 
there  to  answer  for  Mr.  Oxenham 's  death,  on 
suspicion  whereof,  and  of  mutiny  causing  it,  I 
will  attach  thee  and  every  soul  of  his  crew  that 
comes  home.  We  have  lost  too  many  gallant 
captains  of  late  by  treachery  of  their  crews,  and 
he  that  will  not  clear  himself  on  oath,  must  be 
held  for  guilty,  and  self-condemned. " 

"My  good  fellow,"  said  Amyas,  who  could  not 
give  up  his  belief  in  the  man's  honesty,  "why, 
for  such  fantastical  scruples,  peril  not  only  your 
life,  but  your  honor,  and  Mr.  Oxenham's  also? 
For  if  you  be  examined  by  question,  you  may  be 
forced  by  torment  to  say  that  which  is  not  true." 

"  Little  fear  of  that,  young  sir ! "  answered  he, 
with  a  grim  smile;  "I  have  had  too  much  of  the 
rack  already,  and  the  strappado  too,  to  care  much 
what  man  can  do  unto  me.  I  would  heartily  that 
I  thought  it  lawful  to  be  sworn :  but  not  so  think- 
ing, I  can  but  submit  to  the  cruelty  of  man; 
though  I  did  expect  more  merciful  things,  as  a 
most  miserable  and  wrecked  mariner,  at  the 
hands  of  one  who  hath  himself  seen  God's  ways 
in  the  sea,  and  His  wonders  in  the  great  deep. 
Sir  Richard  Grenville,  if  you  will  hear  my  story, 
may  God  avenge  on  my  head  all  my  sins  from  my 
youth  up  until  now,  and  cut  me  off  from  the 
blood  of  Christ,  and,  if  it  were  possible,  from 
the  number  of  His  elect,  if  I  tell  you  one  whit 
more  or  less  than  truth;  and  if  not,  I  commend 
myself  into  the  hands  of  God." 

Sir  Richard  smiled.  "Well,  thou  art  a  brave 
ass,  and  valiant,  though  an  ass  manifest.  Dost 
thou  not  see,  fellow,  how  thou  hast  sworn  a  ten- 
times  bigger  oath  than  ever  I  should  have  asked 


198 


Westward  Ho 


of  thee?  But  this  is  the  way  with  your  Ana- 
baptists, who  by  their  very  hatred  of  forms  and 
ceremonies,  show  of  how  much  account  they  think 
them,  and  then  bind  themselves  out  of  their  own 
fantastical  self-will  with  far  heavier  burdens  than 
ever  the  lawful  authorities  have  laid  on  them  for 
the  sake  of  the  commonweal.  But  what  do  they 
care  for  the  commonweal,  as  long  as  they  can 
save,  as  they  fancy,  each  man  his  own  dirty  soul 
for  himself?  However,  thou  art  sworn  now  with 
a  vengeance;  go  on  with  thy  tale:  and  first,  who 
art  thou,  and  whence?  " 

"Well,  sir,"  said  the  man,  quite  unmoved  by 
this  last  explosion;  "my  name  is  Salvation  Yeo, 
born  in  Clovelly  Street,  in  the  year  1526,  where 
my  father  exercised  the  mystery  of  a  barber 
surgeon,  and  a  preacher  of  the  people  since  called 
Anabaptists,  for  which  I  return  humble  thanks 
to  God." 

Sir  Richard,  —  Fie!  thou  naughty  knave ;  return 
thanks  that  thy  father  was  an  ass  ? 

Yeo.  —  Nay,  but  because  he  was  a  barber  sur- 
geon; for  I  myself  learnt  a  touch  of  that  trade, 
and  thereby  saved  my  life,  as  I  will  tell  presently. 
And  I  do  think  that  a  good  mariner  ought  to 
have  all  knowledge  of  carnal  and  worldly  cunning, 
even  to  tailoring  and  shoemaking,  that  he  may  be 
able  to  turn  his  hand  to  whatsoever  may  hap. 

Sir  Richard.  —  Well  spoken,  fellow :  but  let 
us  have  thy  text  without  thy  comments.  For- 
wards ! 

Yeo.  —  Well,  sir.  I  was  bred  to  the  sea  from 
my  youth,  and  was  with  Captain  Hawkins  in  his 
three  voyages,  which  he  made  to  Guinea  for  negro 
slaves,  and  thence  to  the  West  Indies. 


History  of  Mr.  John  Oxenham      199 

Sir  Richard.  —  Then  thrice  thou  wentest  to  a 
bad  end,  though  Captain  Hawkins  be  my  good  > 
friend;  and   the   last   time  to   a   bad   end    thou 
earnest. 

Yeo. — No  denying  that  last,  your  worship: 
but  as  for  the  former,  I  doubt  —  about  the  unlaw- 
fulness, I  mean;  being  the  negroes  are  of  the 
children  of  Ham,  who  are  cursed  and  reprobate, 
as  Scripture  declares,  and  their  blackness  testi- 
fies, being  Satan's  own  livery;  among  whom 
therefore  there  can  be  none  of  the  elect,  where- 
fore the  elect  are  not  required  to  treat  them  as 
brethren. 

Sir  Richard.  —  What  a  plague  of  a  pragmatical 
sea-lawyer  have  we  here  ?  And  I  doubt  not,  thou 
hypocrite,  that  though  thou  wilt  call  the  negroes' 
black  skin  Satan's  livery,  when  it  serves  thy  turn 
to  steal  them,  thou  wilt  find  out  sables  to  be 
Heaven's  livery  every  Sunday,  and  up  with  a 
godly  howl  unless  a  parson  shall  preach  in  a 
black  gown,  Geneva  fashion.  Out  upon  thee !  Go 
on  with  thy  tale,  lest  thou  finish  thy  sermon  at 
Launceston  after  all. 

Yeo.  — The  Lord's  people  were  always  a  reviled 
people  and  a  persecuted  people:  but  I  will  go 
forward,  sir;  for  Heaven  forbid  but  that  I  should 
declare  what  God  has  done  for  me.  For  till 
lately,  from  my  youth  up,  I  was  given  over  to  all 
wretchlessness  and  unclean  living,  and  was  by 
nature  a  child  of  the  devil,  and  to  every  good 
work  reprobate,  even  as  others. 

Sir  Richard.  — Hark  to  his  "even  as  others"! 
Thou  new-whelped  Pharisee,  canst  not  confess 
thine  own  villainies  without  making  out  others 
as  bad  as  thyself,  and  so  thyself  no  worse  than 


2oo  Westward  Ho! 

others  ?  I  only  hope  that  thou  hast  shown  none 
of  thy  devil's  doings  to  Mr.  Oxenham. 

Yeo.  —  On  the  word  of  a  Christian  man,  sir, 
as  I  said  before,  I  kept  true  faith  with  him,  and 
would  have  been  a  better  friend  to  him,  sir,  what 
is  more,  than  ever  he  was  to  himself. 

Sir  Richard.  — Alas!  that  might  easily  be. 

Yeo.  —  I  think,  sir,  and  will  make  good  against 
any  man,  that  Mr.  Oxenham  was  a  noble  and 
valiant  gentleman;  true  of  his  word,  stout  of  his 
sword,  skilful  by  sea  and  land,  and  worthy  to 
have  been  Lord  High  Admiral  of  England  (sav- 
ing your  worship's  presence),  but  that  through 
two  great  sins,  wrath  and  avarice,  he  was  cast 
away  miserably  or  ever  his  soul  was  brought  to 
the  knowledge  of  the  truth.  Ah,  sir,  he  was  a 
captain  worth  sailing  under! 

And  Yeo  heaved  a  deep  sigh. 

Sir  Richard.  —  Steady,  steady,  good  fellow  !  If 
thou  wouldst  quit  preaching,  thou  art  no  fool 
after  all.  But  tell  us  the  story  without  more 
bush-beating. 

So  at  last  Yeo  settled  himself  to  his  tale :  — 

"Well,  sirs,  I  went,  as  Mr.  Leigh  knows,  to 
Nombre  de  Dios,  with  Mr.  Drake  and  Mr.  Oxen- 
ham,  in  1572,  where  what  we  saw  and  did,  your 
worship,  I  suppose,  knows  as  well  as  I ;  and  there 
was,  as  you  've  heard  maybe,  a  covenant  between 
Mr.  Oxenham  and  Mr.  Drake  to  sail  the  South 
Seas  together,  which  they  made,  your  worship,  in 
my  hearing,  under  the  tree  over  Panama.  For 
when  Mr.  Drake  came  down  from  the  tree,  after 
seeing  the  sea  afar  off,  Mr.  Oxenham  and  I  went 
up  and  saw  it  too;  and  when  we  came  down, 
Drake  says,  *  John,  I  have  made  a  vow  to  God 


History  of  Mr.  John  Oxenham      201 

that  I  will  sail  that  water,  if  I  live  and  God 
gives  me  grace;'  which  he  had  done,  sir,  upon 
his  bended  knees,  like  a  godly  man  as  he  always 
was,  and  would  I  had  taken  after  him!  and 
Mr.  O.  says,  '  I  am  with  you,  Drake,  to  live  or 
die,  and  I  think  I  know  some  one  there  already, 
so  we  shall  not  be  quite  among  strangers;'  and 
laughed  withal.  Well,  sirs,  that  voyage,  as  you 
know,  never  came  off,  because  Captain  Drake  was 
fighting  in  Ireland;  so  Mr.  Oxenham,  who  must 
be  up  and  doing,  sailed  for  himself,  and  I,  who 
loved  him,  God  knows,  like  a  brother  (saving  the 
difference  in  our  ranks),  helped  him  to  get  the 
crew  together,  and  went  as  his  gunner.  That  was 
in  T5755  as  vou  know,  he  had  a  i4O-ton  ship,  sir, 
and  seventy  men  out  of  Plymouth  and  Fowey 
and  Dartmouth,  and  many  of  them  old  hands  of 
Drake's,  beside  a  dozen  or  so  from  Bideford  that 
I  picked  up  when  I  saw  young  Master  here." 

"Thank  God  that  you  did  not  pick  me  up 
too." 

"  Amen,  amen ! "  said  Yeo,  clasping  his  hands 
on  his  breast.  "  Those  seventy  men,  sir,  — 
seventy  gallant  men,  sir,  with  every  one  of  them 
an  immortal  soul  within  him,  —  where  are  they 
now?  Gone,  like  the  spray  !  "  And  he  swept  his 
hands  abroad  with  a  wild  and  solemn  gesture, 
"  And  their  blood  is  upon  my  head !  " 

Both  Sir  Richard  and  Amyas  began  to  suspect 
that  the  man's  brain  was  not  altogether  sound. 

"God  forbid,  my  man, "  said  the  knight,  kindly. 

"Thirteen  men  I  persuaded  to  join  in  Bideford 
town,  beside  William  Penberthy  of  Marazion,  my 
good  comrade.  And  what  if  it  be  said  to  me 
at  the  day  of  judgment,  '  Salvation  Yeo,  where 


2O2  Westward  Ho ! 

are  those  fourteen  whom  thou  didst  tempt  to 
their  deaths  by  covetousness  and  lust  of  gold  ? ' 
Not  that  I  was  alone  in  my  sin,  if  the  truth  must 
be  told.  For  all  the  way  out  Mr.  Oxenham  was 
making  loud  speech,  after  his  pleasant  way,  that 
he  would  make  all  their  fortunes,  and ,  take  them 
to  such  a  Paradise,  that  they  should  have  no  lust 
to  come  home  again.  And  I  —  God  knows  why 
—  for  every  one  boast  of  his  would  make  two, 
even  to  lying  and  empty  fables,  and  anything  to 
keep  up  the  men's  hearts.  For  I  had  really  per- 
suaded myself  that  we  should  all  find  treasures 
beyond  Solomon  his  temple,  and  Mr.  Oxenham 
would  surely  show  us  how  to  conquer  some  golden 
city  or  discover  some  island  all  made  of  precious 
stones.  And  one  day,  as  the  captain  and  I  were 
talking  after  our  fashion,  I  said,  '  And  you  shall 
be  our  king,  captain. '  To  which  he,  '  If  I  be,  I 
shall  not  be  long  without  a  queen,  and  that  no 
Indian  one  either.'  And  after  that  he  often 
jested  about  the  Spanish  ladies,  saying  that  none 
could  show  us  the  way  to  their  hearts  better  than 
he.  Which  speeches  I  took  no  count  of  then, 
sirs:  but  after  I  minded  them,  whether  I  would 
or  not.  Well,  sirs,  we  came  to  the  shore  of  New 
Spain,  near  to  the  old  place  —  that 's  Nombre  de 
Dios;  and  there  Mr.  Oxenham  went  ashore  into 
the  woods  with  a  boat's  crew,  to  find  the  negroes 
who  helped  us  three  years  before.  Those  are  the 
Cimaroons,  gentles,  negro  slaves  who  have  fled 
from  those  devils  incarnate,  their  Spanish  masters, 
and  live  wild,  like  the  beasts  that  perish;  men  of 
great  stature,  sirs,  and  fierce  as  wolves  in  the 
onslaught,  but  poor  jabbering  mazed  fellows  if 
they  be  but  a  bit  dismayed:  and  have  many 


History  of  Mr.  John  Oxenham      203 

Indian  women  with  them,  who  take  to  these 
negroes  a  deal  better  than  to  their  own  kin, 
which  breeds  war  enough,  as  you  may  guess. 

"Well,  sirs,  after  three  days  the  captain  comes 
back,  looking  heavy  enough,  and  says,  '  We 
played  our  trick  once  too  often,  when  we  played 
it  once.  There  is  no  chance  of  stopping  another 
re90  (that  is,  a  mule-train,  sirs)  now.  The  Cima- 
roons  say  that  since  our  last  visit  they  never 
move  without  plenty  of  soldiers,  two  hundred 
shot  at  least.  Therefore, '  he  said,  '  my  gallants, 
we  must  either  return  empty-handed  from  this, 
the  very  market  and  treasury  of  the  whole  Indies, 
or  do  such  a  deed  as  men  never  did  before,  which 
I  shall  like  all  the  better  for  that  very  reason.' 
And  we,  asking  his  meaning,  'Why,'  he  said, 
'  if  Drake  will  not  sail  the  South  Seas,  we  will ; ' 
adding  profanely  that  Drake  was  like  Moses,  who 
beheld  the  promised  land  afar;  but  he  was  Joshua, 
who  would  enter  into  it,  and  smite  the  inhabitants 
thereof.  And,  for  our  confirmation,  showed  me 
and  the  rest  the  superscription  of  a  letter:  and 
said,  '  How  I  came  by  this  is  none  of  your  busi- 
ness :  but  I  have  had  it  in  my  bosom  ever  since  I 
left  Plymouth;  and  I  tell  you  now,  what  I  for- 
bore to  tell  you  at  first,  that  the  South  Seas  have 
been  my  mark  all  along !  such  news  have  I  herein 
of  plate-ships,  and  gold-ships,  and  what  not, 
which  will  come  up  from  Quito  and  Lima  this 
very  month,  all  which,  with  the  pearls  of  the 
Gulf  of  Panama,  and  other  wealth  unspeakable, 
will  be  ours,  if  we  have  but  true  English  hearts 
within  us.' 

"At  which,  gentles,  we  were  like  madmen  for 
lust  of  that  gold,  and  cheerfully  undertook  a  toil 


204  Westward  Ho! 

incredible;  for  first  we  run  our  ship  aground  in  a 
great  wood  which  grew  in  the  very  sea  itself,  and 
then  took  out  her  masts,  and  covered  her  in 
boughs,  with  her  four  cast  pieces  of  great  ord- 
nance (of  which  more  hereafter),  and  leaving  no 
man  in  her,  started  for  the  South  Seas  across  the 
neck  of  Panama,  with  two  small  pieces  of  ordnance 
and  our  culverins,  and  good  store  of  victuals,  and 
with  us  six  of  those  negroes  for  a  guide,  and  so 
twelve  leagues  to  a  river  which  runs  into  the 
South  Sea. 

"  And  there,  having  cut  wood,  we  made  a  pin- 
nace (and  work  enough  we  had  at  it)  of  five-and- 
forty  foot  in  the  keel;  and  in  her  down  the 
stream,  and  to  the  Isle  of  Pearls  in  the  Gulf  of 
Panama. " 

"  Into  the  South  Sea  ?  Impossible !  "  said  Sir 
Richard.  "  Have  a  care  what  you  say,  my  man ; 
for  there  is  that  about  you  which  would  make  me 
sorry  to  find  you  out  a  liar." 

"Impossible  or  not,  liar  or  none,  we  went 
there,  sir." 

"  Question  him,  Amyas,  lest  he  turn  out  to 
have  been  beforehand  with  you." 

The  man  looked  inquiringly  at  Amyas,  who 
said  — 

"  Well,  my  man,  of  the  Gulf  of  Panama  I  can- 
not ask  you,  for  I  never  was  inside  it,  but  what 
other  parts  of  the  coast  do  you  know  ?  " 

"  Every  inch,  sir,  from  Cabo  San  Francisco  to 
Lima ;  more  is  my  sorrow,  for  I  was  a  galley-slave 
there  for  two  years  and  more." 

"  You  know  Lima  ?  " 

"  I  was  there  three  times,  worshipful  gentlemen, 
and  the  last  was  February  come  two  years ;  and 


History  of  Mr.  John  Oxenham      205 

there    I    helped    lade    a    great    plate-ship,    the 
'  Cacafuogo, '  they  called  her." 

Amyas  started.  Sir  Richard  nodded  to  him 
gently  to  be  silent,  and  then  — 

"  And  what  became  of  her,  my  lad  ? " 

"God  knows,  who  knows  all,  and  the  devil 
who  freighted  her.  I  broke  prison  six  weeks 
afterwards,  and  never  heard  but  that  she  got  safe 
into  Panama." 

"  You  never  heard,  then,  that  she  was  taken  ? " 

"Taken,  your  worships?  Who  should  take 
her?" 

"  Why  should  not  a  good  English  ship  take  her 
as  well  as  another?  "  said  Amyas. 

"  Lord  love  you,  sir ;  yes,  faith,  if  they  had  but 
been  there.  Many  's  the  time  that  I  thought  to 
myself,  as  we  went  alongside,  '  Oh,  if  Captain 
Drake  was  but  here,  well  to  windward,  and  our 
old  crew  of  the  "  Dragon  "  !  '  Ask  your  pardon, 
gentles:  but  how  is  Captain  Drake,  if  I  may 
make  so  bold?" 

Neither  could  hold  out  longer. 

"  Fellow,  fellow !  "  cried  Sir  Richard,  spring- 
ing up,  "either  thou  art  the  cunningest  liar  that 
ever  earned  a  halter,  or  thou  hast  done  a  deed  the 
like  of  which  never  man  adventured.  Dost  thou 
not  know  that  Captain  Drake  took  that '  Cacafuogo' 
and  all  her  freight,  in  February  come  two  years  ?  " 

"Captain  Drake!  God  forgive  me,  sir;  but  — 
Captain  Drake  in  the  South  Seas  ?  He  saw  them, 
sir,  from  the  tree-top  over  Panama,  when  I  was 
with  him,  and  I  too;  but  sailed  them,  sir?  — 
sailed  them  ? " 

"Yes,  and  round  the  world  too,"  said  Amyas, 
"and  I  with  him;  and  took  that  very  '  Cacafuogo  ' 


206  Westward  Ho! 

off  Cape  San  Francisco,  as  she  came  up  to 
Panama." 

One  glance  at  the  man's  face  was  enough  to 
prove  his  sincerity.  The  great  stern  Anabaptist, 
who  had  not  winced  at  the  news  of  his  mother's 
death,  dropt  right  on  his  knees  on  the  floor,  and 
burst  into  violent  sobs. 

"Glory  to  God!  Glory  to  God!  O  Lord,  I 
thank  thee !  Captain  Drake  in  the  South  Seas  ! 
The  blood  of  thy  innocents  avenged,  O  Lord ! 
The  spoiler  spoiled,  and  the  proud  robbed;  and 
all  they  whose  hands  were  mighty  have  found 
nothing.  Glory,  glory!  Oh,  tell  me,  sir,  did 
she  fight  ? " 

"We  gave  her  three  pieces  of  ordnance  only, 
and  struck  down  her  mizzenmast,  and  then  boarded 
sword  in  hand,  but  never  had  need  to  strike  a 
blow;  and  before  we  left  her,  one  of  her  own 
boys  had  changed  her  name,  and  rechristened  her 
the  '  Cacaplata. ' ' 

"Glory,  glory!  Cowards  they  are,  as  I  told 
them.  I  told  them  they  never  could  stand  the 
Devon  mastiffs,  and  well  they  flogged  me  for  say- 
ing it ;  but  they  could  not  stop  my  mouth.  O  sir, 
tell  me,  did  you  get  the  ship  that  came  up  after 
her?" 

"What  was  that?" 

"A  long  race-ship,  sir,  from  Guayaquil,  with 
an  old  gentleman  on  board,  —  Don  Francisco  de 
Xararte  was  his  name,  and  by  token,  he  had  a 
gold  falcon  hanging  to  a  chain  round  his  neck, 
and  a  green  stone  in  the  breast  of  it.  I  saw 
it  as  we  rowed  him  aboard.  O  tell  me,  sir, 
tell  me  for  the  love  of  God,  did  you  take  that 
ship?" 


History  of  Mr.  John  Oxenham      207 

"We  did  take  that  ship,  and  the  jewel  too,  and 
her  majesty  has  it  at  this  very  hour." 

"Then  tell  me,  sir,"  said  he  slowly,  as  if  he 
dreaded  an  answer;  "tell  me,  sir,  and  oh,  try  and 
mind  —  was  there  a  little  maid  aboard  with  the 
old  gentleman  ? " 

"A  little  maid?  Let  me  think.  No;  I  saw 
none. " 

The  man  settled  his  features  again  sadly. 

"  I  thought  not.  I  never  saw  her  come  aboard. 
Still  I  hoped,  like;  I  hoped.  Alackaday!  God 
help  me,  Salvation  Yeo  !  " 

"What  have  you  to  do  with  this  little  maid, 
then,  good  fellow !  "  asked  Grenville. 

"Ah,  sir,  before  I  tell  you  that,  I  must  go 
back  and  finish  the  story  of  Mr.  Oxenham,  if  you 
will  believe  me  enough  to  hear  it." 

"I  do  believe  thee,  good  fellow,  and  honor 
thee  too." 

"Then,  sir,  I  can  speak  with  a  free  tongue. 
Where  was  I?" 

"  Where  was  he,  Amyas  ?  " 

"At  the  Isle  of  Pearls." 

"  And  yet,  O  gentles,  tell  me  first,  how  Captain 
Drake  came  into  the  South  Seas :  —  over  the 
neck,  as  we  did  ? " 

"Through  the  Straits,  good  fellow,  like  any 
Spaniard:  but  go  on  with  thy  story,  and  thou 
shalt  have  Mr.  Leigh's  after." 

"Through  the  Straits!  O  glory!  But  I'll 
tell  my  tale.  Well,  sirs  both  —  To  the  Island  of 
Pearls  we  came,  we  and  some  of  the  negroes. 
We  found  many  huts,  and  Indians  fishing  for 
pearls,  and  also  a  fair  house,  with  porches;  but 
no  Spaniard  therein,  save  one  man ;  at  which  Mr. 


208  Westward  Ho ! 

Oxenham  was  like  a  man  transported,  and  fell  on 
that  Spaniard,  crying,  '  Perro,  where  is  your  mis- 
tress ?  Where  is  the  bark  from  Lima  ? '  To 
which  he  boldly  enough,  '  What  was  his  mistress 
to  the  Englishman  ? '  But  Mr.  O.  threatened  to 
twine  a  cord  round  his  head  till  his  eyes  burst 
out;  and  the  Spaniard,  being  terrified,  said  that 
the  ship  from  Lima  was  expected  in  a  fortnight's 
time.  So  for  ten  days  we  lay  quiet,  letting 
neither  negro  nor  Spaniard  leave  the  island,  and 
took  good  store  of  pearls,  feeding  sumptuously  on 
wild  cattle  and  hogs  until  the  tenth  day,  when 
there  came  by  a  small  bark;  her  we  took,  and 
found  her  from  Quito,  and  on  board  60,000  pezos 
of  gold  and  other  store.  With  which  if  we  had 
been  content,  gentlemen,  all  had  gone  well. 
And  some  were  willing  to  go  back  at  once,  hav- 
ing both  treasure  and  pearls  in  plenty;  but  Mr. 
O.,  he  waxed  right  mad,  and  swore  to  slay  any 
one  who  made  that  motion  again,  assuring  us  that 
the  Lima  ship  of  which  he  had  news  was  far 
greater  and  richer,  and  would  make  princes  of  us 
all;  which  bark  came  in  sight  on  the  sixteenth 
day,  and  was  taken  without  shot  or  slaughter. 
The  taking  of  which  bark,  I  verily  believe,  was 
the  ruin  of  every  mother's  son  of  us." 

And  being  asked  why,  he  answered,  "First, 
because  of  the  discontent  which  was  bred  thereby; 
for  on  board  was  found  no  gold,  but  only  100,000 
pezos  of  silver." 

Sir  Richard  Grenville.  — Thou  greedy  fellow; 
and  was  not  that  enough  to  stay  your  stomachs  ? 

Yeo  answered  that  he  would  to  God  it  had 
been;  and  that,  moreover,  the  weight  of  that 
silver  was  afterwards  a  hindrance  to  them,  and  a 


History  of  Mr.  John  Oxenham      209 

fresh  cause  of  discontent,  as  he  would  afterwards 
declare.  "  So  that  it  had  been  well  for  us,  sirs, 
if  we  had  left  it  behind,  as  Mr.  Drake  left  his 
three  years  before,  and  carried  away  the  gold 
only.  In  which  I  do  see  the  evident  hand  of 
God,  and  His  just  punishment  for  our  greediness 
of  gain ;  who  caused  Mr.  Oxenham,  by  whom  we 
had  hoped  to  attain  great  wealth,  to  be  a  snare  to 
us,  and  a  cause  of  utter  ruin." 

"Do  you  think,  then,"  said  Sir  Richard,  "that 
Mr.  Oxenham  deceived  you  wilfully  ?  " 

"I  will  never  believe  that,  sir:  Mr.  Oxenham 
had  his  private  reasons  for  waiting  for  that  ship, 
for  the  sake  of  one  on  board,  whose  face  would 
that  he  had  never  seen,  though  he  saw  it  then,  as 
I  fear,  not  for  the  first  time  by  many  a  one." 
And  so  was  silent. 

"Come,"  said  both  his  hearers,  "you  have 
brought  us  thus  far,  and  you  must  go  on." 

"  Gentlemen,  I  have  concealed  this  matter  from 
all  men,  both  on  my  voyage  home  and  since;  and 
I  hope  you  will  be  secret  in  the  matter,  for  the 
honor  of  my  noble  captain,  and  the  comfort  of 
his  friends  who  are  alive.  For  I  think  it  shame 
to  publish  harm  of  a  gallant  gentleman,  and  of 
an  ancient  and  worshipful  family,  and  to  me  a 
true  and  kind  captain,  when  what  is  done  can- 
not be  undone,  and  least  said  soonest  mended. 
Neither  now  would  I  have  spoken  of  it,  but  that 
I  was  inwardly  moved  to  it  for  the  sake  of  that 
young  gentleman  there "  (looking  at  Amyas), 
"that  he  might  be  warned  in  time  of  God's 
wrath  against  the  crying  sin  of  adultery,  and  flee 
youthful  lusts,  which  war  against  the  soul." 

"Thou  hast  done  wisely  enough,  then,"  said 

Vol.  &-10 


21  o  Westward  Ho  ! 

Sir  Richard;  "and  look  to  it  if  I  do  not  reward 
thee :  but  the  young  gentleman  here,  thank  God, 
needs  no  such  warnings,  having  got  them  already 
both  by  precept  and  example,  where  thou  and 
poor  Oxenham  might  have  had  them  also." 

"  You  mean  Captain  Drake,  your  worship  ?  " 

"I  do,  sirrah.  If  all  men  were  as  clean  livers 
as  he,  the  world  would  be  spared  one  half  the 
tears  that  are  shed  in  it." 

"  Amen,  sir.  At  least  there  would  have  been 
many  a  tear  spared  to  us  and  ours.  For  —  as  all 
must  out  —  in  that  bark  of  Lima  he  took  a  young 
lady,  as  fair  as  the  sunshine,  sir,  and  seemingly 
about  two  or  three-and-twenty  years  of  age,  having 
with  her  a  tall  young  lad  of  sixteen,  and  a  little 
girl,  a  marvellously  pretty  child,  of  about  a  six  or 
seven.  And  the  lady  herself  was  of  an  excellent 
beauty,  like  a  whale's  tooth  for  whiteness,  so  that 
all  the  crew  wondered  at  her,  and  could  not  be 
satisfied  with  looking  upon  her.  And,  gentle- 
men, this  was  strange,  that  the  lady  seemed  in 
no  wise  afraid  or  mournful,  and  bid  her  little  girl 
fear  naught,  as  did  also  Mr.  Oxenham:  but  the 
lad  kept  a  very  sour  countenance,  and  the  more 
when  he  saw  the  lady  and  Mr.  Oxenham  speaking 
together  apart. 

"Well,  sir,  after  this  good  luck  we  were  minded 
to  have  gone  straight  back  to  the  river  whence 
we  came,  and  so  home  to  England  with  all  speed. 
But  Mr.  Oxenham  persuaded  us  to  return  to  the 
island,  and  get  a  few  more  pearls.  To  which 
foolishness  (which  after  caused  the  mishap)  I 
verily  believe  he  was  moved  by  the  instigation  of 
the  devil  and  of  that  lady.  For  as  we  were  about 
to  go  ashore,  I,  going  down  into  the  cabin  of  the 


History  of  Mr.  John  Oxenham      211 

prize,  saw  Mr.  Oxenham  and  that  lady  making 
great  cheer  of  each  other  with,  'My  life,'  and 
1  My  king, '  and  '  Light  of  my  eyes, '  and  such 
toys ;  and  being  bidden  by  Mr.  Oxenham  to  fetch 
out  the  lady's  mails,  and  take  them  ashore,  heard 
how  the  two  laughed  together  about  the  old  ape 
of  Panama  (which  ape,  or  devil  rather,  I  saw 
afterwards  to  my  cost),  and  also  how  she  said  that 
she  had  been  dead  for  five  years,  and  now  that 
Mr.  Oxenham  was  come,  she  was  alive  again,  and 
so  forth. 

"Mr.  Oxenham  bade  take  the  little  maid 
ashore,  kissing  her  and  playing  with  her,  and 
saying  to  the  lady,  '  What  is  yours  is  mine,  and 
what  is  mine  is  yours.'  And  she  asking  whether 
the  lad  should  come  ashore,  he  answered,  '  He  is 
neither  yours  nor  mine ;  let  the  spawn  of  Beelzebub 
stay  on  shore.'  After  which  I,  coming  on  deck 
again,  stumbled  over  that  very  lad,  upon  the 
hatchway  ladder,  who  bore  so  black  and  despite- 
ful a  face,  that  I  verily  believe  he  had  overheard 
their  speech,  and  so  thrust  him  upon  deck;  and 
going  below  again,  told  Mr.  Oxenham  what  I 
thought,  and  said  that  it  were  better  to  put  a 
dagger  into  him  at  once,  professing  to  be  ready 
so  to  do.  For  which  grievous  sin,  seeing  that  it 
was  committed  in  my  unregenerate  days,  I  hope 
I  have  obtained  the  grace  of  forgiveness,  as  I 
have  that  of  hearty  repentance.  But  the  lady 
cried  out,  '  Though  he  be  none  of  mine,  I  have 
sin  enough  already  on  my  soul ; '  and  so  laid  her 
hand  on  Mr.  Oxenham 's  mouth,  entreating  piti- 
fully. And  Mr.  Oxenham  answered  laughing, 
when  she  would  let  him,  '  What  care  we?  let  the 
young  monkey  go  and  howl  to  the  old  one ; '  and 


212  Westward  Ho  1 

so  went  ashore  with  the  lady  to  that  house,  whence 
for  three  days  he  never  came  forth,  and  would 
have  remained  longer,  but  that  the  men,  finding 
but  few  pearls,  and  being  wearied  with  the  watch- 
ing and  warding  so  many  Spaniards,  and  negroes 
came  clamoring  to  him,  and  swore  that  they 
would  return  or  leave  him  there  with  the  lady. 
So  all  went  on  board  the  pinnace  again,  every 
one  in  ill  humor  with  the  captain,  and  he  with 
them. 

"  Well,  sirs,  we  came  back  to  the  mouth  of  the 
river,  and  there  began  our  troubles;  for  the 
negroes,  as  soon  as  we  were  on  shore,  called  on 
Mr.  Oxenham  to  fulfil  the  bargain  he  had  made 
with  them.  And  now  it  came  out  (what  few  of  us 
knew  till  then)  that  he  had  agreed  with  the  Cima- 
roons  that  they  should  have  all  the  prisoners 
which  were  taken,  save  the  gold.  And  he,  though 
loath,  was  about  to  give  up  the  Spaniards  to  them, 
near  forty  in  all,  supposing  that  they  intended  to 
use  them  as  slaves :  but  as  we  all  stood  talking, 
one  of  the  Spaniards,  understanding  what  was 
forward,  threw  himself  on  his  knees  before  Mr. 
Oxenham,  and  shrieking  like  a  madman,  entreated 
not  to  be  given  up  into  the  hands  of  '  those 
devils,'  said  he,  'who  never  take  a  Spanish 
prisoner,  but  they  roast  him  alive,  and  then  eat 
his  heart  among  them.'  We  asked  the  negroes 
if  this  was  possible?  To  which  some  answered, 
What  was  that  to  us?  But  others  said  boldly, 
that  it  was  true  enough,  and  that  revenge  made 
the  best  sauce,  and  nothing  was  so  sweet  as 
Spanish  blood;  and  one,  pointing  to  the  lady, 
said  such  foul  and  devilish  things  as  I  should  be 
ashamed  either  for  me  to  speak,  or  you  to  hear. 


History  of  Mr.  John  Oxenham      213 

At  this  we  were  like  men  amazed  for  very  horror; 
and  Mr.  Oxenham  said,  '  You  incarnate  fiends,  if 
you  had  taken  these  fellows  for  slaves,  it  had  been 
fair  enough;  for  you  were  once  slaves  to  them, 
and  I  doubt  not  cruelly  used  enough :  but  as  for 
this  abomination,'  says  he,  '  God  do  so  to  me, 
and  more  also,  if  I  let  one  of  them  come  into  your 
murderous  hands. '  So  there  was  a  great  quarrel ; 
but  Mr.  Oxenham  stoutly  bade  put  the  prisoners 
on  board  the  ships  again,  and  so  let  the  prizes 
go,  taking  with  him  only  the  treasure,  and  the 
lady  and  the  little  maid.  And  so  the  lad  went 
on  to  Panama,  God's  wrath  having  gone  out 
against  us. 

"Well,  sirs,  the  Cimaroons  after  that  went 
away  from  us,  swearing  revenge  (for  which  we 
cared  little  enough),  and  we  rowed  up  the  river 
to  a  place  where  three  streams  met,  and  then  up 
the  least  of  the  three,  some  four  days'  journey, 
till  it  grew  all  shoal  and  swift;  and  there  we 
hauled  the  pinnace  upon  the  sands,  and  Mr. 
Oxenham  asked  the  men  whether  they  were  will- 
ing to  carry  the  gold  and  silver  over  the  moun- 
tains to  the  North  Sea.  Some  of  them  at  first 
were  loath  to  do  it,  and  I  and  others  advised  that 
we  should  leave  the  plate  behind,  and  take  the 
gold  only,  for  it  would  have  cost  us  three  or  four 
journeys  at  the  least.  But  Mr.  Oxenham  promised 
every  man  100  pezos  of  silver  over  and  above  his 
wages,  which  made  them  content  enough,  and  we 
were  all  to  start  the  morrow  morning.  But,  sirs, 
that  night,  as  God  had  ordained,  came  a  mishap 
by  some  rash  speeches  of  Mr.  Oxenham 's,  which 
threw  all  abroad  again;  for  when  we  had  carried 
the  treasure  about  half  a  league  inland,  and 


214  Westward  Ho! 

hidden  it  away  in  a  house  which  we  made  of 
boughs,  Mr.  O.  being  always  full  of  that  his  fair 
lady,  spoke  to  me  and  William  Penberthy  of 
Marazion,  my  good  comrade,  and  a  few  more, 
saying,  '  That  we  had  no  need  to  return  to  Eng- 
land, seeing  that  we  were  already  in  the  very 
garden  of  Eden,  and  wanted  for  nothing,  but 
could  live  without  labor  or  toil ;  and  that  it  was 
better,  when  we  got  over  to  the  North  Sea,  to  go 
and  seek  out  some  fair  island,  and  there  dwell  in 
joy  and  pleasure  till  our  lives'  end.  And  we 
two, '  he  said,  '  will  be  king  and  queen,  and  you, 
whom  I  can  trust,  my  officers;  and  for  servants 
we  will  have  the  Indians,  who,  I  warrant,  will  be 
more  fain  to  serve  honest  and  merry  masters  like 
us  than  those  Spanish  devils, '  and  much  more  of 
the  like;  which  words  I  liked  well,  —  my  mind, 
alas!  being  given  altogether  to  carnal  pleasure 
and  vanity,  —  as  did  William  Penberthy,  my  good 
comrade,  on  whom  I  trust  God  has  had  mercy. 
But  the  rest,  sirs,  took  the  matter  all  across,  and 
began  murmuring  against  the  captain,  saying  that 
poor  honest  mariners  like  them  had  always  the 
labor  and  the  pa'.n,  while  he  took  his  delight 
with  his  lady;  and  that  they  would  have  at  least 
one  merry  night  before  they  were  slain  by  the 
Cimaroons,  or  eaten  by  panthers  and  lagartos; 
and  so  got  out  of  the  pinnace  two  great  skins  of 
Canary  wine,  which  were  taken  in  the  Lima 
prize,  and  sat  themselves  down  to  drink.  More- 
over, there  were  in  the  pinnace  a  great  sight  of 
hens,  which  came  from  the  same  prize,  by  which 
Mr.  O.  set  great  store,  keeping  them  for  the  lady 
and  the  little  maid ;  and  falling  upon  these,  the 
men  began  to  blaspheme,  saying,  '  What  a  plague 


History  of  Mr.  John  Oxenham      215 

had  the  captain  to  fill  the  boat  with  dirty  live 
lumber  for  that  giglet's  sake?  They  had  a  better 
right  to  a  good  supper  than  ever  she  had,  and 
might  fast  awhile  to  cool  her  hot  blood; '  and  so 
cooked  and  ate  those  hens,  plucking  them  on 
board  the  pinnace,  and  letting  the  feathers  fall 
into  the  stream.  But  when  William  Penberthy, 
my  good  comrade,  saw  the  feathers  floating  away 
down,  he  asked  them  if  they  were  mad,  to  lay  a 
trail  by  which  the  Spaniards  would  surely  track 
them  out,  if  they  came  after  them,  as  without 
doubt  they  would.  But  they  laughed  him  to 
scorn,  and  said  that  no  Spanish  cur  dared  follow 
on  the  heels  of  true  English  mastiffs  as  they 
were,  and  other  boastful  speeches;  and  at  last, 
being  heated  with  wine,  began  afresh  to  murmur 
at  the  captain.  And  one  speaking  of  his  counsel 
about  the  island,  the  rest  altogether  took  it  amiss 
and  out  of  the  way ;  and  some  sprang  up  crying 
treason,  and  others  that  he  meant  to  defraud 
them  of  the  plate  which  he  had  promised,  and 
others  that  he  meant  to  desert  them  in  a  strange 
land,  and  so  forth,  till  Mr.  O.,  hearing  the  hub- 
bub, came  out  to  them  from  the  house,  when  they 
reviled  him  foully,  swearing  that  he  meant  to 
cheat  them;  and  one  Edward  Stiles,  a  Wapping 
man,  mad  with  drink,  dared  to  say  that  he  was  a 
fool  for  not  giving  up  the  prisoners  to  the  negroes, 
and  what  was  it  to  him  if  the  lady  roasted  ?  the 
negroes  should  have  her  yet;  and  drawing  his 
sword,  ran  upon  the  captain:  for  which  I  was 
about  to  strike  him  through  the  body;  but  the 
captain,  not  caring  to  waste  steel  on  such  a 
ribald,  with  his  fist  caught  him  such  a  buffet 
behind  the  ear,  that  he  fell  down  stark  dead,  and 


2 1 6  Westward  Ho ! 

all  the  rest  stood  amazed.  Then  Mr.  Oxenham 
called  out,  '  All  honest  men  who  know  me,  and 
can  trust  me,  stand  by  your  lawful  captain 
against  these  ruffians.'  Whereon,  sirs,  I,  and 
Penberthy  my  good  comrade,  and  four  Plymouth 
men,  who  had  sailed  with  Mr.  O.  in  Mr.  Drake's 
ship,  and  knew  his  trusty  and  valiant  conditions, 
came  over  to  him,  and  swore  before  God  to  stand 
by  him  and  the  lady.  Then  said  Mr.  O.  to  the 
rest,  '  Will  you  carry  this  treasure,  knaves,  or 
will  you  not?  Give  me  an  answer  here.'  And 
they  refused,  unless  he  would,  before  they  started, 
give  each  man  his  share.  So  Mr.  O.  waxed  very 
mad,  and  swore  that  he  would  never  be  served  by 
men  who  did  not  trust  him,  and  so  went  in  again; 
and  that  night  was  spent  in  great  disquiet,  I  and 
those  five  others  keeping  watch  about  the  house 
of  boughs  till  the  rest  fell  asleep,  in  their  drink. 
And  next  morning,  when  the  wine  was  gone  out 
of  them,  Mr.  O.  asked  them  whether  they  would 
go  to  the  hills  with  him,  and  find  those  negroes, 
and  persuade  them  after  all  to  carry  the  treasure. 
To  which  they  agreed  after  awhile,  thinking  that 
so  they  should  save  themselves  labor;  and  went 
off  with  Mr.  Oxenham,  leaving  us  six  who  had 
stood  by  him  to  watch  the  lady  and  the  treasure, 
after  he  had  taken  an  oath  of  us  that  we  would 
deal  justly  and  obediently  by  him  and  by  her, 
which  God  knows,  gentlemen,  we  did.  So  he 
parted  with  much  weeping  and  wailing  of  the 
lady,  and  was  gone  seven  days ;  and  all  that  time 
we  kept  that  lady  faithfully  and  honestly,  bring- 
ing her  the  best  we  could  find,  and  serving  her 
upon  our  bended  knees,  both  for  her  admirable 
beauty,  and  for  her  excellent  conditions,  for  she 


History  of  Mr.  John  Oxenham      217 

was  certainly  of  some  noble  kin,  and  courteous, 
and  without  fear,  as  if  she  had  been  a  very 
princess.  But  she  kept  always  within  the  house, 
which  the  little  maid  (God  bless  her !)  did  not, 
but  soon  learned  to  play  with  us  and  we  with  her, 
so  that  we  made  great  cheer  of  her,  gentlemen, 
sailor  fashion  —  for  you  know  we  must  always 
have  our  minions  aboard  to  pet  and  amuse  us  — 
maybe  a  monkey,  or  a  little  dog,  or  a  singing 
bird,  ay,  or  mice  and  spiders,  if  we  have  nothing 
better  to  play  withal.  And  she  was  wonderful 
sharp,  sirs,  was  the  little  maid,  and  picked  up 
her  English  from  us  fast,  calling  us  jolly  mari- 
ners, which  I  doubt  but  she  has  forgotten  by 
now,  but  I  hope  in  God  it  be  not  so;"  and  there- 
with the  good  fellow  began  wiping  his  eyes. 

"Well,  sir,  on  the  seventh  day  we  six  were 
down  by  the  pinnace  clearing  her  out,  and  the 
little  maid  with  us  gathering  of  flowers,  and 
William  Penberthy  fishing  on  the  bank,  about  a 
hundred  yards  below,  when  on  a  sudden  he  leaps 
up  and  runs  toward  us,  crying,  '  Here  come  our 
hens'  feathers  back  again  with  a  vengeance ! '  and 
so  bade  catch  up  the  little  maid,  and  run  for  the 
house,  for  the  Spaniards  were  upon  us. 

"Which  was  too  true;  for  before  we  could 
win  the  house,  there  were  full  eighty  shot  at  our 
heels,  but  could  not  overtake  us;  nevertheless, 
some  of  them  stopping,  fixed  their  calivers  and 
let  fly,  killing  one  of  the  Plymouth  men.  The 
rest  of  us  escaped  to  the  house,  and  catching  up 
the  lady,  fled  forth,  not  knowing  whither  we 
went,  while  the  Spaniards,  finding  the  house  and 
treasure,  pursued  us  no  farther. 

"  For  all  that  day  and  the  next  we  wandered  in 


2i 8  Westward  Ho! 

great  misery,  the  lady  weeping  continually,  and 
calling  for  Mr.  Oxenham  most  piteously,  and  the 
little  maid  likewise,  till  with  much  ado  we  found 
the  track  of  our  comrades,  and  went  up  that  as 
best  we  might :  but  at  nightfall,  by  good  hap,  we 
met  the  whole  crew  coming  back,  and  with  them 
200  negroes  or  more,  with  bows  and  arrows.  At 
which  sight  was  great  joy  and  embracing,  and  it 
was  a  strange  thing,  sirs,  to  see  the  lady;  for 
before  that  she  was  altogether  desperate :  and  yet 
she  was  now  a  very  lioness,  as  soon  as  she  had 
got  her  love  again;  and  prayed  him  earnestly  not 
to  care  for  that  gold,  but  to  go  forward  to  the 
North  Sea,  vowing  to  him  in  my  hearing  that  she 
cared  no  more  for  poverty  than  she  had  cared  for 
her  good  name,  and  then  —  they  being  a  little 
apart  from  the  rest  —  pointed  round  to  the  green 
forest,  and  said  in  Spanish  —  which  I  suppose 
they  knew  not  that  I  understood,  — '  See,  all 
round  us  is  Paradise.  Were  it  not  enough  for 
you  and  me  to  stay  here  forever,  and  let  them 
take  the  gold  or  leave  it  as  they  will  ? ' 

"To  which  Mr.  Oxenham  — '  Those  who  lived 
in  Paradise  had  not  sinned  as  we  have,  and  would 
never  have  grown  old  or  sick,  as  we  shall. ' 

"  And  she  — '  If  we  do  that,  there  are  poisons 
enough  in  these  woods,  by  which  we  may  die  in 
each  other's  arms,  as  would  to  Heaven  we  had 
died  seven  years  agone ! ' 

"But  he  —  'No,  no,  my  life.  It  stands  upon 
my  honor  both  to  fulfil  my  bond  with  these  men, 
whom  I  have  brought  hither,  and  to  take  home  to 
England  at  least  something  of  my  prize  as  a  proof 
of  my  own  valor. ' 
•  -  "Then  she  smiling  —  '  Am  I  not  prize  enough, 


History  of  Mr.  John  Oxenham      219 

and  proof  enough  ? '  But  he  would  not  be  so 
tempted,  and  turning  to  us  offered  us  the  half  of 
that  treasure,  if  we  would  go  back  with  him,  and 
rescue  it  from  the  Spaniard.  At  which  the  lady 
wept  and  wailed  much;  but  I  took  upon  myself 
to  comfort  her,  though  I  was  but  a  simple  mariner, 
telling  her  that  it  stood  upon  Mr.  Oxenham' s 
honor;  and  that  in  England  nothing  was  esteemed 
so  foul  as  cowardice,  or  breaking  word  and  troth 
betwixt  man  and  man ;  and  that  better  was  it  for 
him  to  die  seven  times  by  the  Spaniards,  than  to 
face  at  home  the  scorn  of  all  who  sailed  the  seas. 
So,  after  much  ado,  back  they  went  again ;  I  and 
Penberthy,  and  the  three  Plymouth  men  which 
escaped  from  the  pinnace,  keeping  the  lady  as 
before. 

"  Well,  sirs,  we  waited  five  days,  having  made 
houses  of  boughs  as  before,  without  hearing 
aught ;  and  on  the  sixth  we  saw  coming  afar  off 
Mr.  Oxenham,  and  with  him  fifteen  or  twenty 
men,  who  seemed  very  weary  and  wounded ;  and 
when  we  looked  for  the  rest  to  be  behind  them, 
behold  there  were  no  more ;  at  which,  sirs,  as  you 
may  well  think,  our  hearts  sank  within  us. 

"And  Mr.  O.,  coming  nearer,  cried  out  afar 
off,  '  All  is  lost ! '  and  so  walked  into  the  camp 
without  a  word,  and  sat  himself  down  at  the  foot 
of  a  great  tree  with  his  head  between  his  hands, 
speaking  neither  to  the  lady  or  to  any  one,  till 
she  very  pitifully  kneeling  before  him,  cursing 
herself  for  the  cause  of  all  his  mischief,  and  pray- 
ing him  to  avenge  himself  upon  that  her  tender 
body,  won  him  hardly  to  look  once  upon  her, 
after  which  (as  is  the  way  of  vain  and  unstable 
man)  all  between  them  was  as  before. 


22O  Westward  Ho ! 

"  But  the  men  were  full  of  curses  against  the 
negroes,  for  their  cowardice  and  treachery;  yea, 
and   against  high  Heaven  itself,  which  had  put 
the   most    part   of    their    ammunition    into   the 
Spaniards'    hands;  and   told   me,  and   I    believe 
truly,  how  they  forced  the  enemy  awaiting  them 
in  a  little  copse  of  great  trees,  well  fortified  with 
barricades  of  boughs,  and  having  with  them  our 
two  falcons,    which   they  had   taken   out  of  the 
pinnace.     And   how  Mr.   Oxenham  divided  both 
the  English  and  the  negroes  into  two  bands,  that 
one   might   attack  the   enemy  in  front,  and  the 
other  in  the  rear,  and  so  set  upon  them  with  great 
fury,    and   would   have  utterly  driven  them  out, 
but  that  the  negroes,  who  had  come  on  with  much 
howling,    like  very  wild  beasts,   being  suddenly 
scared  with  the  shot  and  noise  of  the  ordnance, 
turned  and  fled,   leaving  the  Englishmen  alone; 
in  which  evil  strait  Mr.    O.   fought  like  a  very 
Guy  of  Warwick,  and  I  verily  believe  every  man 
of  them  likewise;  for  there  was  none  of  them  who 
had  not  his  shrewd  scratch  to  show.     And  indeed, 
Mr.  Oxenham 's  party  had  once  gotten  within  the 
barricades,  but  the  Spaniards  being  sheltered  by 
the  tree  trunks  (and   especially  by  one  mighty 
tree,  which  stood  as  I  remembered  it,  and  remem- 
ber it  now,  borne  up  two  fathoms  high  upon  its 
own   roots,  as  it  were  upon  arches  and  pillars), 
shot  at  them  with  such  advantage,  that  they  had 
several  slain,   and  seven  more  taken  alive,    only 
among  the   roots   of  that   tree.     So  seeing  that 
they  could  prevail  nothing,  having  little  but  their 
pikes  and  swords,  they   were  fain  to  give  back; 
though  Mr.   Oxenham  swore  he  would  not  stir  a 
foot,    and   making   at   the   Spanish   captain   was 


History  of  Mr.  John  Oxenham      221 

borne  down  with  pikes,  and  hardly  pulled  away 
by  some,  who  at  last  reminding  him  of  his  lady, 
persuaded  him  to  come  away  with  the  rest. 
Whereon  the  other  party  fled  also ;  but  what  had 
become  of  them  they  knew  not,  for  they  took 
another  way.  And  so  they  miserably  drew  off, 
having  lost  in  men  eleven  killed  and  seven  taken 
alive,  besides  five  of  the  rascal  negroes  who  were 
killed  before  they  had  time  to  run ;  and  there  was 
an  end  of  the  matter.1 

1  In  the  documents  from  which  I  have  drawn  this  veracious 
history,  a  note  is  appended  to  this  point  of  Yeo's  story,  which 
seems  to  me  to  smack  sufficiently  of  the  old  Elizabethan  seaman, 
to  be  inserted  at  length. 

"  All  so  far,  and  most  after,  agreeth  with  Lopez  Vaz  his  tale, 
taken  from  his  pocket  by  my  Lord  Cumberland's  mariners  at  the 
river  Plate,  in  the  year  1586.  Bnt  note  here  his  vainglory  and 
falsehood,  or  else  fear  of  the  Spaniard. 

"  First,  lest  it  should  be  seen  how  great  an  advantage  the 
Spaniards  had,  he  maketh  no  mention  of  the  English  calivers, 
nor  those  two  pieces  of  ordnance  which  were  in  the  pinnace. 

"  Second,  he  saith  nothing  of  the  flight  of  the  Cimaroons : 
though  it  was  evidently  to  be  gathered  from  that  which  he  him- 
self saith,  that  of  less  than  seventy  English  were  slain  eleven,  and 
of  the  negroes  but  five.  And  while  of  the  English  seven  were 
taken  alive,  yet  of  the  negroes  none.  And  why,  but  because  the 
rascals  ran? 

"  Thirdly,  it  is  a  thing  incredible,  and  out  of  experience,  that 
eleven  English  should  be  slain  and  seven  taken,  with  loss  only  of 
two  Spaniards  killed. 

"  Search  now,  and  see  (for  I  will  not  speak  of  mine  own  small 
doings),  in  all  those  memorable  voyages,  which  the  worthy  and 
learned  Mr.  Hakluyt  hath  so  painfully  collected,  and  which  are 
to  my  old  age  next  only  to  my  Bible,  whether  in  all  the  fights 
which  we  have  endured  with  the  Spaniards,  their  loss,  even  in 
victory,  hath  not  far  exceeded  ours.  For  we  are  both  bigger  of 
body  and  fiercer  of  spirit,  being  even  to  the  poorest  of  us  (thanks 
to  the  care  of  our  illustrious  princes),  the  best  fed  men  of  Europe, 
the  most  trained  to  feats  of  strength  and  use  of  weapons,  and  put 
our  trust  also  not  in  any  Virgin  or  saints,  dead  rags  and  bones, 
painted  idols  which  have  no  breath  in  their  mouths,  or  St.  Bar- 
tholomew medals  and  such  devil's  remembrancers:  but  in  the 


222  Westward  Ho ! 

"But  the  next  day,  gentlemen,  in  came  some 
five-and-twenty  more,  being  the  wreck  of  the 
other  party,  and  with  them  a  few  negroes;  and 
these  last  proved  themselves  no  honester  men 
than  they  were  brave,  for  there  being  great  misery 
among  us  English,  and  every  one  of  us  straggling 
where  he  could  to  get  food,  every  day  one  or  more 
who  went  out  never  came  back,  and  that  caused  a 
suspicion  that  the  negroes  had  betrayed  them  to 
the  Spaniards,  or,  maybe,  slain  and  eaten  them. 
So  these  fellows  being  upbraided,  with  that  alto- 
gether left  us,  telling  us  boldly,  that  if  they  had 
eaten  our  fellows,  we  owed  them  a  debt  instead 
of  the  Spanish  prisoners ;  and  we,  in  great  terror 
and  hunger,  went  forward  and  over  the  mountains 
till  we  came  to  a  little  river  which  ran  northward, 
which  seemed  to  lead  into  the  Northern  Sea;  and 
there  Mr.  O.  —  who,  sirs,  I  will  say,  after  his 
first  rage  was  over,  behaved  himself  all  through 

only  true  God  and  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  whom  whosoever 
trusteth,  one  of  them  shall  chase  a  thousand.  So  I  hold,  having 
had  good  experience  ;  and  say,  if  they  have  done  it  once,  let  them 
do  it  again,  and  kill  their  eleven  to  our  two,  with  any  weapon 
they  will,  save  paper  bullets  blown  out  of  Fame's  lying  trumpet. 
Yet  I  have  no  quarrel  with  the  poor  Portugal ;  for  I  doubt  not 
but  friend  Lopez  Vaz  had  looking  over  his  shoulder  as  he  wrote 
some  mighty  black  velvet  Don,  with  a  name  as  long  as  that  Don 
Bernaldino  Delgadillo  de  Avellaneda  who  set  forth  lately  his  vain- 
glorious libel  of  lies  concerning  the  last  and  fatal  voyage  of  my 
dear  friends  Sir  F.  Drake  and  Sir  John  Hawkins,  who  rest  in 
peace,  having  finished  their  labors,  as  would  God  I  rested.  To 
whose  shameless  and  unspeakable  lying  my  good  friend  Mr. 
Henry  Savile  of  this  county  did  most  pithily  and  wittily  reply, 
stripping  the  ass  out  of  his  lion's  skin  ;  and  Sir  Thomas  Baaker- 
ville,  general  of  the  fleet,  by  my  advice,  send  him  a  cartel  of 
defiance,  offering  to  meet  him  with  choice  of  weapons,  in  any 
indifferent  kingdom  of  equal  distance  from  this  realm ;  which 
challenge  he  hath  prudently  put  in  his  pipe,  or  rather  rolled  Ik  up 
for  one  of  his  Spanish  cigarros,  and  smoked  it,  and  I  doubt  not, 
found  it  foul  in  the  mouth." 


History  of  Mr.  John  Oxenham      223 

like  a  valiant  and  skilful  commander  —  bade  us 
cut  down  trees  and  make  canoes,  to  go  down  to 
the  sea;  which  we  began  to  do,  with  great  labor 
and  little  profit,  hewing  down  trees  with  our 
swords,  and  burning  them  out  with  fire,  which, 
after  much  labor,  we  kindled;  but  as  we  were 
a-burning  out  of  the  first  tree,  and  cutting  down 
of  another,  a  great  party  of  negroes  came  upon  us, 
and  with  much  friendly  show  bade  us  flee  for  our 
lives,  for  the  Spaniards  were  upon  us  in  great 
force.  And  so  we  were  up  and  away  again, 
hardly  able  to  drag  our  legs  after  us  for  hunger 
and  weariness,  and  the  broiling  heat.  And  some 
were  taken  (God  help  them ! )  and  some  fled  with 
the  negroes,  of  whom  what  became  God  alone 
knoweth ;  but  eight  or  ten  held  on  with  the  cap- 
tain, among  whom  was  I,  and  fled  downward 
toward  the  sea  for  one  day ;  but  afterwards  find- 
ing, by  the  noise  in  the  woods,  that  the  Spaniards 
were  on  the  track  of  us,  we  turned  up  again 
toward  the  inland,  and  coming  to  a  cliff,  climbed 
up  over  it,  drawing  up  the  lady  and  the  little 
maid  with  cords  of  liana  (which  hang  from  those 
trees  as  honeysuckle  does  here,  but  exceeding 
stout  and  long,  even  to  fifty  fathoms) ;  and  so 
breaking  the  track,  hoped  to  be  out  of  the  way 
of  the  enemy. 

"By  which,  nevertheless,  we  only  increased 
our  misery.  For  two  fell  from  that  cliff,  as  men 
asleep  for  very  weariness,  and  miserably  broke 
their  bones;  and  others,  whether  by  the  great 
toil,  or  sunstrokes,  or  eating  of  strange  berries, 
fell  sick  of  fluxes  and  fevers ;  where  was  no  drop 
of  water,  but  rock  of  pumice  stone  as  bare  as  the 
back  of  my  hand,  and  full,  moreover,  of  great 


224  Westward  Ho! 

cracks,  black  and  without  bottom,  over  which  we 
had  not  strength  to  lift  the  sick,  but  were  fain  to 
leave  them  there  aloft,  in  the  sunshine,  like 
Dives  in  his  torments,  crying  aloud  for  a  drop  of 
water  to  cool  their  tongues;  and  every  man  a 
great  stinking  vulture  or  two  sitting  by  him,  like 
an  ugly  black  fiend  out  of  the  pit,  waiting  till  the 
poor  soul  should  depart  out  of  the  corpse:  but 
nothing  could  avail,  and  for  the  dear  life  we  must 
down  again  and  into  the  woods,  or  be  burned  up 
alive  upon  those  rocks. 

"  So  getting  down  the  slope  on  the  farther  side, 
we  came  into  the  woods  once  more,  and  there 
wandered  for  many  days,  I  know  not  how  many; 
our  shoes  being  gone,  and  our  clothes  all  rent  off 
us  with  brakes  and  briars.  And  yet  how  the  lady 
endured  all  was  a  marvel  to  see;  for  she  went 
barefoot  many  days,  and  for  clothes  was  fain  to 
wrap  herself  in  Mr.  Oxenham's  cloak;  while  the 
little  maid  went  all  but  naked:  but  ever  she 
looked  still  on  Mr.  Oxenham,  and  seemed  to  take 
no  care  as  long  as  he  was  by,  comforting  and 
cheering  us  all  with  pleasant  words;  yea,  and 
once  sitting  down  under  a  great  fig-tree,  sang  us 
all  to  sleep  with  very  sweet  music;  yet,  waking 
about  midnight,  I  saw  her  sitting  still  upright, 
weeping  very  bitterly;  on  whom,  sirs,  God  have 
mercy;  for  she  was  a  fair  and  a  brave  jewel. 

"  And  so,  to  make  few  words  of  a  sad  matter, 
at  last  there  were  none  left  but  Mr.  Oxenham  and 
the  lady  and  the  little  maid,  together  with  me 
and  William  Penberthy  of  Marazion,  my  good 
comrade.  And  Mr.  Oxenham  always  led  the 
lady,  and  Penberthy  and  I  carried  the  little  maid. 
And  for  food  we  had  fruits,  such  as  we  could  find, 


History  of  Mr.  John  Oxenham      225 

and  water  we  got  from  the  leaves  of  certain  lilies 
which  grew  on  the  bark  of  trees,  which  I  found 
by  seeing  the  monkeys  drink  at  them;  and  the 
little  maid  called  them  monkey-cups,  and  asked 
for  them  continually,  making  me  climb  for  them. 
And  so  we  wandered  on,  and  upward  into  very 
high  mountains,  always  fearing  lest  the  Spaniards 
should  track  us  with  dogs,  which  made  the  lady 
leap  up  often  in  her  sleep,  crying  that  the  blood- 
hounds were  upon  her.  And  it  befell  upon  a  day, 
that  we  came  into  a  great  wood  of  ferns  (which 
grew  not  on  the  ground  like  ours,  but  on  stems 
as  big  as  a  pinnace's  mast,  and  the  bark  of  them 
was  like  a  fine  meshed  net,  very  strange  to  see), 
where  was  very  pleasant  shade,  cool  and  green ; 
and  there,  gentlemen,  we  sat  down  on  a  bank  of 
moss,  like  folk  desperate  and  fordone,  and  every 
one  looked  the  other  in  the  face  for  a  long  while. 
After  which  I  took  off  the  bark  of  those  ferns, 
for  I  must  needs  be  doing  something  to  drive 
away  thought,  and  began  to  plait  slippers  for  the 
little  maid. 

"And  as  I  was  plaiting,  Mr.  Oxenham  said, 
'  What  hinders  us  from  dying  like  men,  every 
man  falling  on  his  own  sword?'  To  which  I 
answered  that  I  dare  not ;  for  a  wise  woman  had 
prophesied  of  me,  sirs,  that  I  should  die  at  sea, 
and  yet  neither  by  water  or  battle,  wherefore  I 
did  not  think  right  to  meddle  with  the  Lord's 
purposes.  And  William  Penberthy  said,  '  That 
he  would  sell  his  life,  and  that  dear,  but  never 
give  it  away. '  But  the  lady  said,  '  Ah,  how 
gladly  would  I  die!  but  then  la  paouvre  garse,' 
which  is  in  French  '  the  poor  maid, '  meaning  the 
little  one.  Then  Mr.  Oxenham  fell  into  a  very 


226  West  ward  Ho! 

great  weeping,  a  weakness  I  never  saw  him  in 
before  or  since;  and  with  many  tears  besought 
me  never  to  desert  that  little  maid,  whatever 
might  befall;  which  I  promised,  swearing  to  it 
like  a  heathen,  but  would,  if  I  had  been  able, 
have  kept  it  like  a  Christian.  But  on  a  sudden 
there  was  a  great  cry  in  the  wood,  and  coming 
through  the  trees  on  all  sides  Spanish  arque- 
busiers,  a  hundred  strong  at  least,  and  negroes 
with  them,  who  bade  us  stand  or  they  would 
shoot.  William  Penberthy  leapt  up,  crying 
'  Treason ! '  and  running  upon  the  nearest  negro 
ran  him  through,  and  then  another,  and  then 
falling  on  the  Spaniards,  fought  manfully  till  he 
was  borne  down  with  pikes,  and  so  died.  But  I, 
seeing  nothing  better  to  do,  sate  still  and  finished 
my  plaiting.  And  so  we  were  all  taken,  and  I 
and  Mr.  Oxenham  bound  with  cords;  but  the 
soldiers  made  a  litter  for  the  lady  and  child,  by 
commandment  of  Senor  Diego  de  Trees,  their 
commander,  a  very  courteous  gentleman. 

"Well,  sirs,  we  were  brought  down  to  the 
place  where  the  house  of  boughs  had  been  by  the 
river-side;  there  we  went  over  in  boats,  and 
found  waiting  for  us  certain  Spanish  gentlemen, 
and  among  others  one  old  and  ih -favored  man, 
gray-bearded  and  bent,  in  a  suit  of  black  velvet, 
who  seemed  to  be  a  great  man  among  them.  And 
if  you  will  believe  me,  Mr.  Leigh,  that  was  none 
other  than  the  old  man  with  the  gold  falcon  at  his 
breast,  Don  Francisco  Xararte  by  name,  whom 
you  found  aboard  of  the  Lima  ship.  And  had 
you  known  as  much  of  him  as  I  do,  or  as  Mr. 
Oxenham  did  either,  you  had  cut  him  up  for 
shark's  bait,  or  ever  you  let  the  cur  ashore  again. 


History  of  Mr.  John  Oxenham      227 

"Well,  sirs,  as  soon  as  the  lady  came  to  shore, 
that  old  man  ran  upon  her  sword  in  hand,  and 
would  have  slain  her,  but  some  there  held  him 
back.  On  which  he  turned  to,  and  reviled  with 
every  foul  and  spiteful  word  which  he  could  think 
of,  so  that  some  there  bade  him  be  silent  for 
shame ;  and  Mr.  Oxenham  said,  '  It  is  worthy  of 
you,  Don  Francisco,  thus  to  trumpet  abroad  your 
own  disgrace.  Did  I  not  tell  you  years  ago  that 
you  were  a  cur;  and  are  you  not  proving  my 
words  for  me  ? ' 

"  He  answered,  '  English  dog,  would  to  Heaven 
I  had  never  seen  you !  ' 

"  And  Mr.  Oxenham,  '  Spanish  ape,  would  to 
Heaven  that  I  had  sent  my  dagger  through  your 
herring-ribs  when  you  passed  me  behind  St. 
Ildegonde's  church,  eight  years  last  Easter-eve.' 
At  which  the  old  man  turned  pale,  and  then 
began  again  to  upbraid  the  lady,  vowing  that  he 
would  have  her  burnt  alive,  and  other  devilish 
words,  to  which  she  answered  at  last  — 

"'Would  that  you  had  burnt  me  alive  on  my 
wedding  morning,  and  spared  me  eight  years  of 
misery ! '  And  he  — 

"'Misery?  Hear  the  witch,  seftors!  Oh, 
have  I  not  pampered  her,  heaped  with  jewels, 
clothes,  coaches,  what  not?  The  saints  alone 
know  what  I  have  spent  on  her.  What  more 
would  she  have  of  me  ? ' 

"To  which  she  answered  only  but  this  one 
word,  '  Fool ! '  but  in  so  terrible  a  voice,  though 
low,  that  they  who  were  about  to  laugh  at  the  old 
pantaloon,  were  more  minded  to  weep  for  her. 

" '  Fool ! '  she  said  again,  after  a  while,  '  I  will 
waste  no  words  upon  you.  I  would  have  driven 


228  Westward  Ho! 

a  dagger  to  your  heart  months  ago,  but  that  I  was 
loath  to  set  you  free  so  soon  from  your  gout  and 
your  rheumatism.  Selfish  and  stupid,  know 
when  you  bought  my  body  from  my  parents,  you 
did  not  buy  my  soul !  Farewell,  my  love,  my 
life!  and  farewell,  sefiors!  May  you  be  more 
merciful  to  your  daughters  than  my  parents  were 
to  me ! '  And  so,  catching  a  dagger  from  the 
girdle  of  one  of  the  soldiers,  smote  herself  to 
the  heart,  and  fell  dead  before  them  all. 

"At  which  Mr.  Oxenham  smiled,  and  said, 
'  That  was  worthy  of  us  both.  If  you  will  unbind 
my  hands,  sefiors,  I  shall  be  most  happy  to  copy 
so  fair  a  schoolmistress. ' 

"  But  Don  Diego  shook  his  head,  and  said  — 

" '  It  were  well  for  you,  valiant  seflor,  were  I 
at  liberty  to  do  so ;  but  on  questioning  those  of 
your  sailors  whom  I  have  already  taken,  I  can- 
not hear  that  you  have  any  letters  of  license, 
either  from  the  queen  of  England,  or  any  other 
potentate.  I  am  compelled,  therefore,  to  ask 
you  whether  this  is  so ;  for  it  is  a  matter  of  life 
and  death. ' 

"To  which  Mr.  Oxenham  answered  merrily, 
that  so  it  was:  but  that  he  was  not  aware  that 
any  potentate's  license  was  required  to  permit  a 
gentleman's  meeting  his  lady  love;  and  that  as 
for  the  gold  which  they  had  taken,  if  they  had 
never  allowed  that  fresh  and  fair  young  May  to 
be  forced  into  marrying  that  old  January,  he 
should  never  have  meddled  with  their  gold ;  so 
that  was  rather  their  fault  than  his.  And  added, 
that  if  he  was  to  be  hanged,  as  he  supposed,  the 
only  favor  which  he  asked  for  was  a  long  drop 
and  no  priests.  And  all  the  while,  gentlemen, 


History  of  Mr.  John  Oxenham      229 

he  still  kept  his  eyes  fixed  on  the  lady's  corpse, 
till  he  was  led  away  with  me,  while  all  that  stood 
by,  God  reward  them  for  it,  lamented  openly  the 
tragical  end  of  those  two  sinful  lovers. 

"And  now,  sirs,  what  befell  me  after  that 
matters  little;  for  I  never  saw  Captain  Oxenham 
again,  nor  ever  shall  in  this  life." 

"  He  was  hanged,  then  ?  " 

"  So  I  heard  for  certain  the  next  year,  and  with 
him  the  gunner  and  sundry  more:  but  some  were 
given  away  for  slaves  to  the  Spaniards,  and  may 
be  alive  now,  unless,  like  me,  they  have  fallen 
into  the  cruel  clutches  of  the  Inquisition.  For 
the  Inquisition  now,  gentlemen,  claims  the  bodies 
and  souls  of  all  heretics  all  over  the  world  (as  the 
devils  told  me  with  their  own  lips,  when  I  pleaded 
that  I  was  no  Spanish  subject) ;  and  none  that  it 
catches,  whether  peaceable  merchants  or  ship- 
wrecked mariners,  but  must  turn  or  burn." 

"But  how  did  you  get  into  the  Inquisition? " 

"Why,  sir,  after  we  were  taken,  we  set  forth 
to  go  down  the  river  again ;  and  the  old  Don  took 
the  little  maid  with  him  in  one  boat  (and  bitterly 
she  screeched  at  parting  from  us  and  from  the 
poor  dead  corpse),  and  Mr.  Oxenham  with  Don 
Diego  de  Trees  in  another,  and  I  in  a  third. 
And  from  the  Spaniards  I  learnt  that  we  were  to 
be  taken  down  to  Lima,  to  the  Viceroy ;  but  that 
the  old  man  lived  hard  by  Panama,  and  was  going 
straight  back  to  Panama  forthwith  with  the  little 
maid.  But  they  said,  '  It  will  be  well  for  her  if 
she  ever  gets  there,  for  the  old  man  swears  she  is 
none  of  his,  and  would  have  left  her  behind  him 
in  the  woods,  now,  if  Don  Diego  had  not  shamed 
him  out  of  it.'  And  when  I  heard  that,  seeing 


230  Westward  Ho! 

that   there   was  nothing  but  death  before  me,   I 
made  up  my  mind  to  escape;  and  the  very  first 
night,    sirs,   by   God's  help,   I   did  it,  and  went 
southward   away   into    the    forest,    avoiding  the 
tracks  of  the  Cimaroons,  till  I  came  to  an  Indian 
town.     And  there,  gentlemen,  I  got  more  mercy 
from  heathens  than  ever  I  had  from  Christians; 
for  when  they  found  that  I  was  no  Spaniard,  they 
fed   me  and  gave  me  a  house,  and  a  wife  (and  a 
good   wife   she  was  to  me),   and  painted  me  all 
over  in  patterns,  as  you  see;  and  because  I  had 
some  knowledge  of  surgery  and  blood-letting,  and 
my  fleams  in  my  pocket,  which  were  worth  to  me 
a  fortune,   I  rose   to   great   honor   among  them, 
though  they  taught  me  more  of  simples  than  ever 
I  taught  them  of  surgery.     So  I  lived  with  them 
merrily  enough,  being  a  very  heathen  like  them, 
or  indeed  worse,  for  they  worshipped  their  Xemes, 
but  I  nothing.     And  in  time  my  wife  bare  me  a 
child ;  in  looking  at  whose  sweet  face,  gentlemen, 
I  forgot  Mr.   Oxenham  and  his  little  maid,  and 
my  oath,  ay,  and  my  native  land  also.     Where- 
fore it  was  taken  from  me,  else  had  I  lived  and 
died  as  the  beasts  which  perish;  for  one  night, 
after  we  were  all  lain  down,  came  a  noise  out- 
side the  town,  and  I  starting  up  saw  armed  men 
and  calivers  shining  in  the  moonlight,  and  heard 
one   read   in   Spanish,  with   a  loud  voice,   some 
fool's  sermon,  after  their  custom  when  they  hunt 
the  poor  Indians,  how  God  had  given  to  St.  Peter 
the  dominion  of  the  whole  earth,  and  St.   Peter 
again  the  Indies  to  the  Catholic  king;  wherefore, 
if   they  would   all    be   baptized   and    serve   the 
Spaniard,  they  should  have  some  monkey's  allow- 
ance or  other  of  more  kicks  than  pence;  and  if 


History  of  Mr.  John  Oxenham      231 

not,  then  have  at  them  with  fire  and  sword ;  but 
I  dare  say  your  worships  know  that  devilish  trick 
of  theirs  better  than  I. " 

"I  know  it,  man.     Go  on." 

"  Well  —  no  sooner  were  the  words  spoken  than, 
without  waiting  to  hear  what  the  poor  innocents 
within  would  answer  (though  that  mattered  little, 
for  they  understood  not  one  word  of  it),  what  do 
the  villains  but  let  fly  right  into  the  town  with 
their  calivers,  and  then  rush  in,  sword  in  hand, 
killing  pell-mell  all  they  met,  one  of  which  shots, 
gentlemen,  passing  through  the  doorway,  and 
close  by  me,  struck  my  poor  wife  to  the  heart, 
that  she  never  spoke  word  more.  I,  catching  up 
the  babe  from  her  breast,  tried  to  run :  but  when 
I  saw  the  town  full  of  them,  and  their  dogs  with 
them  in  leashes,  which  was  yet  worse,  I  knew  all 
was  lost,  and  sat  down  again  by  the  corpse  with 
the  babe  on  my  knees,  waiting  the  end,  like  one 
stunned  and  in  a  dream;  for  now  I  thought  God 
from  whom  I  had  fled  had  surely  found  me  out, 
as  He  did  Jonah,  and  the  punishment  of  all  my 
sins  was  come.  Well,  gentlemen,  they  dragged 
me  out,  and  all  the  young  men  and  women,  and 
chained  us  together  by  the  neck ;  and  one,  catch- 
ing the  pretty  babe  out  of  my  arms,  calls  for 
water  and  a  priest  (for  they  had  their  shavelings 
with  them),  and  no  sooner  was  it  christened  than, 
catching  the  babe  by  the  heels,  he  dashed  out  its 
brains,  —  oh !  gentlemen,  gentlemen  !  —  against 
the  ground,  as  if  it  had  been  a  kitten ;  and  so  did 
they  to  several  more  innocents  that  night,  after 
they  had  christened  them ;  saying  it  was  best  for 
them  to  go  to  heaven  while  they  were  still  sure 
thereof;  and  so  marched  us  all  for  slaves,  leaving 


232  Westward  Ho! 

the  old  folk  and  the  wounded  to  die  at  leisure. 
But  when  morning  came,  and  they  knew  by  my 
skin  that  I  was  no  Indian,  and  by  my  speech  that 
I  was  no  Spaniard,  they  began  threatening  me 
with  torments,  till  I  confessed  that  I  was  an 
Englishman,  and  one  of  Oxenham's  crew.  At 
that  says  the  leader,  '  Then  you  shall  to  Lima,  to 
hang  by  the  side  of  your  captain  the  pirate ; '  by 
which  I  first  knew  that  my  poor  captain  was  cer- 
tainly gone ;  but  alas  for  me !  the  priest  steps  in 
and  claims  me  for  his  booty,  calling  me  Lutheran, 
heretic,  and  enemy  of  God;  and  so,  to  make  short 
a  sad  story,  to  the  Inquisition  at  Cartagena  I 
went,  where  what  I  suffered,  gentlemen,  were  as 
disgustful  for  you  to  hear,  as  unmanly  for  me  to 
complain  of;  but  so  it  was,  that  being  twice 
racked,  and  having  endured  the  water-torment  as 
best  I  could,  I  was  put  to  the  scarpines,  whereof 
I  am,  as  you  see,  somewhat  lame  of  one  leg  to 
this  day.  At  which  I  could  abide  no  more,  and 
so,  wretch  that  I  am !  denied  my  God,  in  hope  to 
save  my  life;  which  indeed  I  did,  but  little  it 
profited  me;  for  though  I  had  turned  to  their 
superstition,  I  must  have  two  hundred  stripes  in 
the  public  place,  and  then  go  to  the  galleys  for 
seven  years.  And  there,  gentlemen,  ofttimes  I 
thought  that  it  had  been  better  for  me  to  have 
been  burned  at  once  and  for  all :  but  you  know  as 
well  as  I  what  a  floating  hell  of  heat  and  cold, 
hunger  and  thirst,  stripes  and  toil,  is  every  one 
of  those  accursed  craft.  In  which  hell,  neverthe- 
less, gentlemen,  I  found  the  road  to  heaven,  —  I 
had  almost  said  heaven  itself.  For  it  fell  out, 
by  God's  mercy,  that  my  next  comrade  was  an 
Englishman  like  myself,  a  young  man  of  Bristol, 


History  of  Mr.  John  Oxenham      233 

who,  as  he  told  me,  had  been  some  manner  of 
factor  on  board  poor  Captain  Barker's  ship,  and 
had  been  a  preacher  among  the  Anabaptists  here 
in  England.  And,  oh !  Sir  Richard  Grenville,  if 
that  man  had  done  for  you  what  he  did  for  me, 
you  would  never  say  a  word  against  those  who 
serve  the  same  Lord,  because  they  don't  altogether 
hold  with  you.  For  from  time  to  time,  sir, 
seeing  me  altogether  despairing  and  furious,  like 
a  wild  beast  in  a  pit,  he  set  before  me  in  secret 
earnestly  the  sweet  promises  of  God  in  Christ,  — • 
who  says,  '  Come  to  me,  all  ye  that  are  heavy 
laden,  and  I  will  refresh  you;  and  though  your 
sins  be  as  scarlet,  they  shall  be  as  white  as  snow,' 
—  till  all  that  past  sinful  life  of  mine  looked  like 
a  dream  when  one  awaketh,  and  I  forgot  all  my 
bodily  miseries  in  the  misery  of  my  soul,  so  did 
I  loathe  and  hate  myself  for  my  rebellion  against 
that  loving  God  who  had  chosen  me  before  the 
foundation  of  the  world,  and  come  to  seek  and 
save  me  when  I  was  lost ;  and  falling  into  very 
despair  at  the  burden  of  my  heinous  sins,  knew 
no  peace  until  I  gained  sweet  assurance  that  my 
Lord  had  hanged  my  burden  upon  His  cross,  and 
washed  my  sinful  soul  in  His  most  sinless  blood, 
Amen !  " 

And  Sir  Richard  Grenville  said  Amen  also. 

"But,  gentlemen,  if  that  sweet  youth  won  a 
soul  to  Christ,  he  paid  as  dearly  for  it  as  ever 
did  saint  of  God.  For  after  a  three  or  four 
months,  when  I  had  been  all  that  while  in  sweet 
converse  with  him,  and  I  may  say  in  heaven  in 
the  midst  of  hell,  there  came  one  night  to  the 
barranco  at  Lima,  where  we  were  kept  when  on 
shore,  three  black  devils  of  the  Holy  Office,  and 

VoL  8—11 


234  Westward  Ho ! 

carried  him  off  without  a  word,  only  saying  to 
me,  '  Look  that  your  turn  come  not  next,  for  we 
hear  that  you  have  had  much  talk  with  the  vil- 
lain. '  And  at  these  words  I  was  so  struck  cold 
with  terror  that  I  swooned  right  away,  and  verily, 
if  they  had  taken  me  there  and  then,  I  should 
have  denied  my  God  again,  for  my  faith  was  but 
young  and  weak :  but  instead,  they  left  me  aboard 
the  galley  for  a  few  months  more  (that  was  a 
whole  voyage  to  Panama  and  back),  in  daily  dread 
lest  I  should  find  myself  in  their  cruel  claws 
again  —  and  then  nothing  for  me,  but  to  burn  as 
a  relapsed  heretic.  But  when  we  came  back  to 
Lima,  the  officers  came  on  board  again,  and  said 
to  me,  '  That  heretic  has  confessed  naught  against 
you,  so  we  will  leave  you  for  this  time :  but  be- 
cause you  have  been  seen  talking  with  him  so 
much,  and  the  Holy  Office  suspects  your  con- 
version to  be  but  a  rotten  one,  you  are  adjudged 
to  the  galleys  for  the  rest  of  your  life  in  perpetual 
servitude. '  " 

"  But  what  became  of  him  ?  "  asked  Amyas. 

"  He  was  burned,  sir,  a  day  or  two  before  we 
got  to  Lima,  and  five  others  with  him  at  the 
same  stake,  of  whom  two  were  Englishmen;  old 
comrades  of  mine,  as  I  guess." 

"  Ah ! "  said  Amyas,  "  we  heard  of  that  when 
we  were  off  Lima;  and  they  said,  too,  that  there 
were  six  more  lying  still  in  prison,  to  be  burnt  in 
a  few  days.  If  we  had  had  our  fleet  with  us  (as 
we  should  have  had  if  it  had  not  been  for  John 
Winter)  we  would  have  gone  in  and  rescued  them 
all,  poor  wretches,  and  sacked  the  town  to  boot : 
but  what  could  we  do  with  one  ship  ?  " 

"Would  to  God  you  had,  sir;  for  the  story  was 


History  of  Mr.  John  Oxenham      235 

true  enough;  and  among  them,  I  heard,  were 
two  young  ladies  of  quality  and  their  confessor, 
who  came  to  their  ends  for  reproving  out  of 
Scripture  the  filthy  and  loathsome  living  of  those 
parts,  which,  as  I  saw  well  enough  and  too  well,  is 
liker  to  Sodom  than  to  a  Christian  town ;  but  God 
will  avenge  His  saints,  and  their  sins.  Amen." 

"Amen,"  said  Sir  Richard:  "but  on  with  thy 
tale,  for  it  is  as  strange  as  ever  man  heard. " 

"Well,  gentlemen,  when  I  heard  that  I  must 
end  my  days  in  that  galley,  I  was  for  awhile  like 
a  madman :  but  in  a  day  or  two  there  came  over 
me,  I  know  not  how,  a  full  assurance  of  salvation, 
both  for  this  life  and  the  life  to  come,  such  as  I 
had  never  had  before ;  and  it  was  revealed  to  me 
(I  speak  the  truth,  gentlemen,  before  Heaven) 
that  now  I  had  been  tried  to  the  uttermost,  and 
that  my  deliverance  was  at  hand. 

"  And  all  the  way  up  to  Panama  (that  was  after 
we  had  laden  the  '  Cacafuogo')  I  cast  in  my  mind 
how  to  escape,  and  found  no  way :  but  just  as  I 
was  beginning  to  lose  heart  again,  a  door  was 
opened  by  the  Lord's  own  hand ;  for  ( I  know  not 
why)  we  were  marched  across  from  Panama  to 
Nombre,  which  had  never  happened  before,  and 
there  put  all  together  into  a  great  barranco  close 
by  the  quay-side,  shackled,  as  is  the  fashion,  to 
one  long  bar  that  ran  the  whole  length  of  the 
house.  And  the  very  first  night  that  we  were 
there,  I,  looking  out  of  the  window,  spied,  lying 
close  aboard  of  the  quay,  a  good-sized  caravel 
well  armed  and  just  loading  for  sea;  and  the 
land  breeze  blew  off  very  strong,  so  that  the  sail- 
ors were  laying  out  a  fresh  warp  to  hold  her  to 
the  shore.  And  it  came  into  my  mind,  that  if  we 


236  Westward  Ho ! 

were  aboard  of  her,  we  should  be  at  sea  in  five 
minutes;  and  looking  at  the  quay,  I  saw  all  the 
soldiers  who  had  guarded  us  scattered  about 
drinking  and  gambling,  and  some  going  into  tav- 
erns to  refresh  themselves  after  their  journey. 
That  was  just  at  sundown ;  and  half  an  hour 
after,  in  comes  the  gaoler  to  take  a  last  look  at 
us  for  the  night,  and  his  keys  at  his  girdle. 
Whereon,  sirs  (whether  by  madness,  or  whether 
by  the  spirit  which  gave  Samson  strength  to  rend 
the  lion),  I  rose  against  him  as  he  passed  me, 
without  forethought  or  treachery  of  any  kind, 
chained  though  I  was,  caught  him  by  the  head, 
and  threw  him  there  and  then  against  the  wall, 
that  he  never  spoke  word  after ;  and  then  with  his 
keys  freed  myself  and  every  soul  in  that  room, 
and  bid  them  follow  me,  vowing  to  kill  any  man 
who  disobeyed  my  commands.  They  followed,  as 
men  astounded  and  leaping  out  of  night  into  day, 
and  death  into  life,  and  so  aboard  that  caravel  and 
out  of  the  harbor  (the  Lord  only  knows  how,  who 
blinded  the  eyes  of  the  idolaters),  with  no  more 
hurt  than  a  few  chance-shot  from  the  soldiers  on 
the  quay.  But  my  tale  has  been  over- long  already, 
gentlemen " 

"  Go  on  till  midnight,  my  good  fellow,  if  you 
will." 

"  Well,  sirs,  they  chose  me  for  captain,  and  a 
certain  Genoese  for  lieutenant,  and  away  to  go. 
I  would  fain  have  gone  ashore  after  all,  and  back 
to  Panama  to  hear  news  of  the  little  maid :  but 
that  would  have  been  but  a  fool's  errand.  Some 
wanted  to  turn  pirates:  but  I,  and  the  Genoese 
too,  who  was  a  prudent  man,  though  an  evil  one, 
persuaded  them  to  run  for  England  and  get  em- 


History  of  Mr.  John  Oxenham      237 

ployment  in  the  Netherland  wars,  assuring  them 
that  there  would  be  no  safety  in  the  Spanish  Main, 
when  once  our  escape  got  wind.  And  the  more 
part  being  of  one  mind,  for  England  we  sailed, 
watering  at  the  Barbadoes  because  it  was  deso- 
late; and  so  eastward  toward  the  Canaries.  In 
which  voyage  what  we  endured  (being  taken  by 
long  calms),  by  scurvy,  calentures,  hunger,  and 
thirst,  no  tongue  can  tell.  Many  a  time  were  we 
glad  to  lay  out  sheets  at  night  to  catch  the  dew, 
and  suck  them  in  the  morning;  and  he  that  had 
a  noggin  of  rain-water  out  of  the  scuppers  was  as 
much  sought  to  as  if  he  had  been  Adelantado  of 
all  the  Indies;  till  of  a  hundred  and  forty  poor 
wretches  a  hundred  and  ten  were  dead,  blasphem- 
ing God  and  man,  and  above  all  me  and  the  Geno- 
ese, for  taking  the  Europe  voyage,  as  if  I  had  not 
sins  enough  of  my  own  already.  And  last  of  all, 
when  we  thought  ourselves  safe,  we  were  wrecked 
by  southwesters  on  the  coast  of  Brittany,  near  to 
Cape  Race,  from  which  but  nine  souls  of  us  came 
ashore  with  their  lives ;  and  so  to  Brest,  where  I 
found  a  Flushinger  who  carried  me  to  Falmouth ; 
and  so  ends  my  tale,  in  which  if  I  have  said  one 
word  more  or  less  than  truth,  I  can  wish  myself 
no  worse,  than  to  have  it  all  to  undergo  a  second 
time." 

And  his  voice,  as  he  finished,  sank  from  very 
weariness  of  soul ;  while  Sir  Richard  sat  opposite 
him  in  silence,  his  elbows  on  the  table,  his  cheeks 
on  his  doubled  fists,  looking  him  through  and 
through  with  kindling  eyes.  No  one  spoke  for 
several  minutes;  and  then  — 

"  Amyas,  you  have  heard  this  story.  You  be- 
lieve it?" 


238  West  ward  Ho! 

"  Every  word,  sir,  or  I  should  not  have  the  heart 
of  a  Christian  man." 

"  So  do  I.     Anthony !  " 

The  butler  entered. 

"Take  this  man  to  the  buttery;  clothe  him 
comfortably,  and  feed  him  with  the  best;  and 
bid  the  knaves  treat  him  as  if  he  were  their  own 
father." 

But  Yeo  lingered. 

"  If  I  might  be  so  bold  as  to  ask  your  worship 
a  favor? " 

"  Anything  in  reason,  my  brave  fellow." 

"  If  your  worship  could  put  me  in  the  way  of 
another  adventure  to  the  Indies?" 

"  Another !  Hast  not  had  enough  of  the  Span- 
iards already?  " 

"  Never  enough,  sir,  while  one  of  the  idolatrous 
tyrants  is  left  unhanged,"  said  he,  with  a  right 
bitter  smile  "But  it's  not  for  that  only,  sir:  but 
my  little  maid  —  Oh,  sir!  my  little  maid,  that  I 
swore  to  Mr.  Oxenham  to  look  to,  and  never  saw 
her  from  that  day  to  this !  I  must  find  her,  sir, 
or  I  shall  go  mad,  I  believe.  Not  a  night  but  she 
comes  and  calls  to  me  in  my  dreams,  the  poor 
darling ;  and  not  a  morning  but  when  I  wake  there 
is  my  oath  lying  on  my  soul,  like  a  great  black 
cloud,  and  I  no  nearer  the  keeping  of  it.  I  told 
that  poor  young  minister  of  it  when  we  were  in 
the  galleys  together;  and  he  said  oaths  were 
oaths,  and  keep  it  I  must ;  and  keep  it  I  will,  sir, 
if  you  '11  but  help  me." 

"  Have  patience,  man.  God  will  take  as  good 
care  of  thy  little  maid  as  ever  thou  wilt." 

"I  know  it,  sir.  I  know  it:  but  faith's  weak, 
sir !  and  oh !  if  she  were  bred  up  a  Papist  and  an 


History  of  Mr.  John  Oxenham      239 

idolater ;  would  n't  her  blood  be  on  my  head  then, 
sir?  Sooner  than  that,  sooner  than  that,  I  'd  be  in 
the  Inquisition  again  to-morrow,  I  would  !  " 

"  My  good  fellow,  there  are  no  adventures  to 
the  Indies  forward  now :  but  if  you  want  to  fight 
Spaniards,  here  is  a  gentleman  will  show  you  the 
way.  Amyas,  take  him  with  you  to  Ireland.  If 
he  has  learnt  half  the  lessons  God  has  set  him  to 
learn,  he  ought  to  stand  you  in  good  stead." 

Yeo  looked  eagerly  at  the  young  giant. 

"Will  you  have  me,  sir?  There's  few  matters  I 
can't  turn  my  hand  to :  and  maybe  you  '11  be  going 
to  the  Indies  again,  some  day,  eh?  and  take  me 
with  you?  I  'd  serve  your  turn  well,  though  I  say 
it,  either  for  gunner  or  for  pilot.  I  know  every 
stone  and  tree  from  Nombre  to  Panama,  and  all  the 
ports  of  both  the  seas.  You  '11  never  be  content, 
I  '11  warrant,  till  you  Ve  had  another  turn  along  the 
gold  coasts,  will  you  now?" 

Amyas  laughed,  and  nodded ;  and  the  bargain 
was  concluded. 

So  out  went  Yeo  to  eat,  and  Amyas  having  re- 
ceived his  despatches,  got  ready  for  his  journey 
home. 

"  Go  the  short  way  over  the  moors,  lad ;  and 
send  back  Gary's  gray  when  you  can.  You  must 
not  lose  an  hour,  but  be  ready  to  sail  the  moment 
the  wind  goes  about." 

So  they  started :  but  as  Amyas  was  getting  into 
the  saddle,  he  saw  that  there  was  some  stir  among 
the  servants,  who  seemed  to  keep  carefully  out  of 
Yeo's  way,  whispering  and  nodding  mysteriously ; 
and  just  as  his  foot  was  in  the  stirrup,  Anthony, 
the  old  butler,  plucked  him  back. 

" Dear  father  alive,  Mr.  Amyas !  "  whispered  he: 


240  Westward  Ho ! 

"  and  you  be  n't  going  by  the  moor  road  all  alone 
with  that  chap?" 

"  Why  not,  then  ?  I  'm  too  big  for  him  to  eat, 
I  reckon." 

"  Oh,  Mr.  Amyas !  he  's  not  right,  I  tell  you ; 
not  company  for  a  Christian  —  to  go  forth  with 
creatures  as  has  flames  of  fire  in  their  inwards; 
't  is  temptation  of  Providence,  indeed,  then,  it  is." 

"Tale  of  a  tub." 

"  Tale  of  a  Christian,  sir.  There  was  two  boys 
pig-minding,  seed  him  at  it  down  the  hill,  beside  a 
maiden  that  was  taken  mazed  (and  no  wonder,  poor 
soul !)  and  lying  in  screeching  asterisks  now  down 
to  the  mill  —  you  ask  as  you  go  by  —  and  saw 
the  flames  come  out  of  the  mouth  of  mun,  and  the 
smoke  out  of  mun's  nose  like  a  vire-drake,  and  the 
roaring  of  mun  like  the  roaring  of  ten  thousand 
bulls.  Oh,  sir !  and  to  go  with  he  after  dark  over 
moor !  T  is  the  devil's  devices,  sir,  against  you, 
because  you  'm  going  against  his  sarvants  the 
Pope  of  Room  and  the  Spaniard ;  and  you  '11  be 
Pixy-led,  sure  as  life,  and  locked  into  a  bog, 
you  will,  and  see  mun  vanish  away  to  fire  and 
brimstone,  like  a  jack-o'-lantern.  Oh,  have  a  care, 
then,  have  a  care  !  " 

And  the  old  man  wrung  his  hands,  while  Amyas, 
bursting  with  laughter,  rode  off  down  the  park, 
with  the  unconscious  Yeo  at  his  stirrup,  chat- 
ting away  about  the  Indies,  and  delighting  Amyas 
more  and  more  by  his  shrewdness,  high  spirit,  and 
rough  eloquence. 

They  had  gone  ten  miles  or  more;  the  day 
began  to  draw  in,  and  the  western  wind  to  sweep 
more  cold  and  cheerless  every  moment,  when 
Amyas,  knowing  that  there  was  not  an  inn  hard 


History  of  Mr.  John  Oxenham      241 

by  around  for  many  a  mile  ahead,  took  a  pull  at  a 
certain  bottle  which  Lady  Grenville  had  put  into 
his  holster,  and  then  offered  Yeo  a  pull  also. 

He  declined ;  he  had  meat  and  drink  too  about 
him,  Heaven  be  praised ! 

"  Meat  and  drink?  Fall  to,  then,  man,  and 
don't  stand  on  manners." 

Whereon  Yeo,  seeing  an  old  decayed  willow  by 
a  brook,  went  to  it,  and  took  therefrom  some 
touchwood,  to  which  he  set  a  light  with  his  knife 
and  a  stone,  while  Amyas  watched,  a  little  puzzled 
and  startled,  as  Yeo's  fiery  reputation  came  into 
his  mind.  Was  he  really  a  salamander-sprite,  and 
going  to  warm  his  inside  by  a  meal  of  burning 
tinder  ?  But  now  Yeo,  in  his  solemn  methodical 
way,  pulled  out  of  his  bosom  a  brown  leaf,  and 
began  rolling  a  piece  of  it  up  neatly  to  the  size  of 
his  little  finger ;  and  then,  putting  the  one  end  into 
his  mouth  and  the  other  on  the  tinder,  sucked  at  it 
till  it  was  a-light ;  and  drinking  down  the  smoke, 
began  puffing  it  out  again  at  his  nostrils  with  a 
grunt  of  deepest  satisfaction,  and  resumed  his 
dog-trot  by  Amyas's  side,  as  if  he  had  been  a 
walking  chimney. 

On  which  Amyas  burst  into  a  loud  laugh,  and 
cried  — 

"Why,  no  wonder  they  said  you  breathed  fire? 
Is  not  that  the  Indians'  tobacco?  " 

"  Yea,  verily,  Heaven  be  praised !  but  did  you 
never  see  it  before?" 

"  Never,  though  we  heard  talk  of  it  along  the 
coast;  but  we  took  it  for  one  more  Spanish  lie. 
Humph  —  well,  live  and  learn!" 

"  Ah,  sir,  no  lie,  but  a  blessed  truth,  as  I  can 
tell,  who  have  ere  now  gone  in  the  strength  of  this 


242  Westward  Ho! 

weed  three  days  and  nights  without  eating;  and 
therefore,  sir,  the  Indians  always  carry  it  with 
them  on  their  war-parties:  and  no  wonder;  for 
when  all  things  were  made  none  was  made  better 
than  this;  to  be  a  lone  man's  companion,  a 
bachelor's  friend,  a  hungry  man's  food,  a  sad 
man's  cordial,  a  wakeful  man's  sleep,  and  a  chilly 
man's  fire,  sir;  while  for  stanching  of  wounds, 
purging  of  rheum,  and  settling  of  the  stomach, 
there 's  no  herb  like  unto  it  under  the  canopy  of 
heaven." 

The  truth  of  which  eulogium  Amyas  tested  in 
after  years,  as  shall  be  fully  set  forth  in  due  place 
and  time.  But  "  Mark  in  the  meanwhile,"  says 
one  of  the  veracious  chroniclers  from  whom  I 
draw  these  facts,  writing  seemingly  in  the  palmy 
days  of  good  Queen  Anne,  and  "  not  having"  (as 
he  says)  "  before  his  eyes  the  fear  of  that  miso- 
capnic  Solomon  James  I.  or  of  any  other  lying 
Stuart,"  "that  not  to  South  Devon,  but  to  North; 
not  to  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  but  to  Sir  Amyas 
Leigh ;  not  to  the  banks  of  Dart,  but  to  the  banks 
of  Torridge,  does  Europe  owe  the  day-spring  of 
the  latter  age,  that  age  of  smoke  which  shall 
endure  and  thrive,  when  the  age  of  brass  shall 
have  vanished  like  those  of  iron  and  of  gold ;  for 
whereas  Mr.  Lane  is  said  to  have  brought  home 
that  divine  weed  (as  Spenser  well  names  it)  from 
Virginia,  in  the  year  1584,  it  is  hereby  indisputable 
that  full  four  years  earlier,  by  the  bridge  of  Put- 
ford  in  the  Torridge  moors  (which  all  true  smokers 
shall  hereafter  visit  as  a  hallowed  spot  and  point 
of  pilgrimage)  first  twinkled  that  fiery  beacon  and 
beneficent  lodestar  of  Bidefordian  commerce,  to 
spread  hereafter  from  port  to  port  and  peak  to 


History  of  Mr.  John  Oxenham      243 

peak,  like  the  watch-fires  which  proclaimed  the 
coming  of  the  Armada  or  the  fall  of  Troy,  even  to 
the  shores  of  the  Bosphorus,  the  peaks  of  the 
Caucasus,  and  the  farthest  isles  of  the  Malayan 
sea;  while  Bideford,  metropolis  of  tobacco,  saw 
her  Pool  choked  with  Virginian  traders,  and  the 
pavement  of  her  Bridgeland  Street  groaning  be- 
neath the  savory  bales  of  roll  Trinadado,  leaf,  and 
pudding;  and  her  grave  burghers,  bolstered  and 
blocked  out  of  their  own  houses  by  the  scarce  less 
savory  stock-fish  casks  which  filled  cellar,  parlor, 
and  attic,  were  fain  to  sit  outside  the  door,  a  silver 
pipe  in  every  strong  right  hand,  and  each  left 
hand  chinking  cheerfully  the  doubloons  deep 
lodged  in  the  auriferous  caverns  of  their  trunk- 
hose  ;  while  in  those  fairy-rings  of  fragrant  mist, 
which  circled  round  their  contemplative  brows, 
flitted  most  pleasant  visions  of  Wiltshire  farmers 
jogging  into  Sherborne  fair,  their  heaviest  shillings 
in  their  pockets,  to  buy  (unless  old  Aubrey  lies) 
the  lotus-leaf  of  Torridge  for  its  weight  in  silver, 
and  draw  from  thence,  after  the  example  of  the 
Caciques  of  Dariena,  supplies  of  inspiration  much 
needed,  then  as  now,  in  those  Gothamite  regions. 
And  yet  did  these  improve,  as  Englishmen,  upon 
the  method  of  those  heathen  savages;  for  the 
latter  (so  Salvation  Yeo  reported  as  a  truth,  and 
Dampier's  surgeon  Mr.  Wafer  after  him),  when 
they  will  deliberate  of  war  or  policy,  sit  round  in 
the  hut  of  the  chief;  where  being  placed,  enter  to 
them  a  small  boy  with  a  cigarro  of  the  bigness  of 
a  rolling-pin,  and  puffs  the  smoke  thereof  into  the 
face  of  each  warrior,  from  the  eldest  to  the  young- 
est; while  they,  putting  their  hand  funnel-wise 
round  their  mouths,  draw  into  the  sinuosities  of 


244  Westward  Ho ! 

the  brain  that  more  than  Delphic  vapor  of  proph- 
ecy ;  which  boy  presently  falls  down  in  a  swoon, 
and  being  dragged  out  by  the  heels  and  laid  by  to 
sober,  enter  another  to  puff  at  the  sacred  cigarro, 
till  he  is  dragged  out  likewise ;  and  so  on  till  the 
tobacco  is  finished,  and  the  seed  of  wisdom  has 
sprouted  in  every  soul  into  the  tree  of  meditation, 
bearing  the  flowers  of  eloquence,  and  in  due  time 
the  fruit  of  valiant  action."  With  which  quaint 
fact  (for  fact  it  is,  in  spite  of  the  bombast)  I  end 
the  present  chapter. 


CHAPTER    VIII 

HOW  THE  NOBLE  BROTHERHOOD  OF  THE  ROSE 
WAS  FOUNDED 

"  It  is  virtue,  yea  virtue,  gentlemen,  that  maketh  gentlemen; 
that  maketh  the  poor  rich,  the  base-born  noble,  the  sub- 
ject a  sovereign,  the  deformed  beautiful,  the  sick  whole, 
the  weak  strong,  the  most  miserable  most  happy.  There 
are  two  principal  and  peculiar  gifts  in  the  nature  of  man, 
knowledge  and  reason ;  the  one  commandeth,  and  the 
other  obeyeth :  these  things  neither  the  whirling  wheel 
of  fortune  can  change,  neither  the  deceitful  cavillings  of 
worldlings  separate,  neither  sickness  abate,  neither  age 
abolish." —  LILLY'S  Euphues,  1586. 

IT  now  falls  to  my  lot  to  write  of  the  foundation 
of  that  most  chivalrous  brotherhood  of  the 
Rose,  which  after  a  few  years  made  itself  not  only 
famous  in  its  native  country  of  Devon,  but  formi- 
dable, as  will  be  related  hereafter,  both  in  Ireland 
and  in  the  Netherlands,  in  the  Spanish  Main  and 
the  heart  of  South  America.  And  if  this  chapter 
shall  seem  to  any  Quixotic  and  fantastical,  let 
them  recollect  that  the  generation  who  spoke  and 
acted  thus  in  matters  of  love  and  honor  were, 
nevertheless,  practised  and  valiant  soldiers,  and 
prudent  and  crafty  politicians ;  that  he  who  wrote 
the  "  Arcadia"  was  at  the  same  time,  in  spite  of  his 
youth,  one  of  the  subtlest  diplomatists  of  Europe ; 
that  the  poet  of  the  "  Faerie  Queene  "  was  also  the 
author  of  "  The  State  of  Ireland  ;"  and  if  they  shall 


246  Westward  Ho  I 

quote  against  me  with  a  sneer  Lilly's  "  Euphues  " 
itself,  I  shall  only  answer  by  asking  —  Have  they 
ever  read  it?  For  if  they  have  done  so,  I  pity 
them  if  they  have  not  found  it,  in  spite  of  occa- 
sional tediousness  and  pedantry,  as  brave,  right- 
eous, and  pious  a  book  as  man  need  look  into: 
and  wish  for  no  better  proof  of  the  nobleness  and 
virtue  of  the  Elizabethan  age,  than  the  fact  that 
"  Euphues "  and  the  "  Arcadia "  were  the  two 
popular  romances  of  the  day.  It  may  have  suited 
the  purposes  of  Sir  Walter  Scott,  in  his  cleverly 
drawn  Sir  Piercie  Shafton,  to  ridicule  the  Eu- 
phuists,  and  that  affectatam  comitatem  of  the  trav- 
elled English  of  which  Languet  complains ;  but  over 
and  above  the  anachronism  of  the  whole  character 
(for,  to  give  but  one  instance,  the  Euphuist  knight 
talks  of  Sidney's  quarrel  with  Lord  Oxford  at  least 
ten  years  before  it  happened),  we  do  deny  that 
Lilly's  book  could,  if  read  by  any  man  of  common 
sense,  produce  such  a  coxcomb,  whose  spiritual 
ancestors  would  rather  have  been  Gabriel  Harvey 
and  Lord  Oxford,  —  if  indeed  the  former  has  not 
maligned  the  latter,  and  ill-tempered  Tom  Nash 
maligned  the  maligner  in  his  turn. 

But,  indeed,  there  is  a  double  anachronism  in 
Sir  Piercie;  for  he  does  not  even  belong  to  the 
days  of  Sidney,  but  to  those  worse  times  which 
began  in  the  latter  years  of  Elizabeth,  and  after 
breaking  her  mighty  heart,  had  full  license  to 
bear  their  crop  of  fools'  heads  in  the  profligate 
days  of  James.  Of  them,  perhaps,  hereafter.  And 
in  the  meanwhile,  let  those  who  have  not  read 
"  Euphues  "  believe  that,  if  they  could  train  a  son 
after  the  fashion  of  his  Ephcebus,  to  the  great 
saving  of  their  own  money  and  his  virtue,  all 


The  Brotherhood  of  the  Rose    247 

fathers,  even  in  these  money-making  days,  would 
rise  up  and  call  them  blessed.  Let  us  rather  open 
our  eyes,  and  see  in  these  old  Elizabeth  gallants 
our  own  ancestors,  showing  forth  with  the  luxuri- 
ant wildness  of  youth  all  the  virtues  which  still 
go  to  the  making  of  a  true  Englishman.  Let  us 
not  only  see  in  their  commercial  and  military 
daring,  in  their  political  astuteness,  in  their  deep 
reverence  for  law,  and  in  their  solemn  sense  of  the 
great  calling  of  the  English  nation,  the  antitypes 
or  rather  the  examples  of  our  own :  but  let  us 
confess  that  their  chivalry  is  only  another  garb  of 
that  beautiful  tenderness  and  mercy  which  is  now, 
as  it  was  then,  the  twin  sister  of  English  valor; 
and  even  in  their  extravagant  fondness  for  Conti- 
nental manners  and  literature,  let  us  recognize  that 
old  Anglo-Norman  teachableness  and  wide-hearted- 
ness,  which  has  enabled  us  to  profit  by  the  wisdom 
and  civilization  of  all  ages  and  of  all  lands,  without 
prejudice  to  our  own  distinctive  national  character. 

And  so  I  go  to  my  story,  which,  if  any  one  dis- 
likes, he  has  but  to  turn  the  leaf  till  he  finds  pas 
turage  which  suits  him  better. 

Amyas  could  not  sail  the  next  day,  or  the  day 
after;  for  the  southwester  freshened,  and  blew 
three  parts  of  a  gale  dead  into  the  bay.  So  hav- 
ing got  the  "  Mary  Grenville  "  down  the  river  into 
Appledore  pool,  ready  to  start  with  the  first  shift 
of  wind,  he  went  quietly  home ;  and  when  his 
mother  started  on  a  pillion  behind  the  old  serving- 
man  to  ride  to  Clovelly,  where  Frank  lay  wounded, 
he  went  in  with  her  as  far  as  Bideford,  and  there 
met,  coming  down  the  High  Street,  a  procession 
of  horsemen  headed  by  Will  Gary,  who,  clad  cap- 
a-pie  in  a  shining  armor,  sword  on  thigh,  and 


248  Westward  Ho ! 

helmet  at  saddle-bow,  looked  as  gallant  a  young 
gentleman  as  ever  Bideford  dames  peeped  at  from 
door  and  window.  Behind  him,  upon  country 
ponies,  came  four  or  five  stout  serving-men,  carry- 
ing his  lances  and  baggage,  and  their  own  long- 
bows, swords,  and  bucklers;  and  behind  all,  in  a 
horse-litter,  to  Mrs.  Leigh's  great  joy,  Master 
Frank  himself.  He  deposed  that  his  wounds 
were  only  flesh-wounds,  the  dagger  having  turned 
against  his  ribs ;  that  he  must  see  the  last  of  his 
brother;  and  that  with  her  good  leave  he  would 
not  come  home  to  Burrough,  but  take  up  his 
abode  with  Gary  in  the  Ship  Tavern,  close  to  the 
Bridge-foot.  This  he  did  forthwith,  and  settling 
himself  on  a  couch,  held  his  levee  there  in  state, 
mobbed  by  all  the  gossips  of  the  town,  not  without 
white  fibs  as  to  who  had  brought  him  into  that 
sorry  plight. 

But  in  the  meanwhile  he  and  Amyas  concocted 
a  scheme,  which  was  put  into  effect  the  next  day 
(being  market-day) ;  first  by  the  innkeeper,  who 
began  under  Amyas's  orders  a  bustle  of  roasting, 
boiling,  and  frying,  unparalleled  in  the  annals  of  the 
Ship  Tavern ;  and  next  by  Amyas  himself,  who, 
going  out  into  the  market,  invited  as  many  of  his 
old  schoolfellows,  one  by  one  apart,  as  Frank  had 
pointed  out  to  him,  to  a  merry  supper  and  a 
"  rowse "  thereon  consequent ;  by  which  crafty 
scheme,  in  came  each  of  Rose  Salterne's  gentle 
admirers,  and  found  himself,  to  his  considerable 
disgust,  seated  at  the  same  table  with  six  rivals,  to 
none  of  whom  had  he  spoken  for  the  last  six 
months.  However,  all  were  too  well  bred  to  let 
the  Leighs  discern  as  much ;  and  they  (though,  of 
course,  they  knew  all)  settled  their  guests,  Frank 


The  Brotherhood  of  the  Rose    249 

on  his  couch  lying  at  the  head  of  the  table,  and 
Amyas  taking  the  bottom :  and  contrived,  by 
filling  all  mouths  with  good  things,  to  save  them 
the  pain  of  speaking  to  each  other  till  the  wine 
should  have  loosened  their  tongues  and  warmed 
their  hearts.  In  the  meanwhile  both  Amyas  and 
Frank,  ignoring  the  silence  of  their  guests  with  the 
most  provoking  good-humor,  chatted,  and  joked, 
and  told  stories,  and  made  themselves  such  good 
company,  that  Will  Gary,  who  always  found  mer- 
riment infectious,  melted  into  a  jest,  and  then 
into  another,  and  finding  good-humor  far  more 
pleasant  than  bad,  tried  to  make  Mr.  Coffin  laugh, 
and  only  made  him  bow,  and  to  make  Mr.  For- 
tescue  laugh,  and  only  made  him  frown;  and 
unabashed  nevertheless,  began  playing  his  light 
artillery  upon  the  waiters,  till  he  drove  them  out 
of  the  room  bursting  with  laughter. 

So  far  so  good.  And  when  the  cloth  was  drawn, 
and  sack  and  sugar  became  the  order  of  the  day, 
and  "  Queen  and  Bible  "  had  been  duly  drunk  with 
all  the  honors,  Frank  tried  a  fresh  move,  and  — 

"  I  have  a  toast,  gentlemen  —  here  it  is.  '  The 
gentlemen  of  the  Irish  wars;  and  may  Ireland 
never  be  without  a  St.  Leger  to  stand  by  a  For- 
tescue,  a  Fortescue  to  stand  by  a  St.  Leger,  and 
a  Chichester  to  stand  by  both.' " 

Which  toast  of  course  involved  the  drinking  the 
healths  of  the  three  representatives  of  those  fam- 
ilies, and  their  returning  thanks,  and  paying  a 
compliment  each  to  the  other's  house :  and  so  the 
ice  cracked  a  little  further ;  and  young  Fortescue 
proposed  the  health  of  "  Amyas  Leigh  and  all  bold 
mariners ;  "  to  which  Amyas  replied  by  a  few  blunt 
kindly  words,  "  that  he  wished  to  know  no  better 


250  Westward  Ho ! 

fortune  than  to  sail  round  the  world  again  with  the 
present  company  as  fellow-adventurers,  and  so  give 
the  Spaniards  another  taste  of  the  men  of  Devon." 

And  by  this  time,  the  wine  going  down  sweetly, 
caused  the  lips  of  them  that  were  asleep  to  speak ; 
till  the  ice  broke  up  altogether,  and  every  man 
began  talking  like  a  rational  Englishman  to  the 
man  who  sat  next  him. 

"  And  now,  gentlemen,"  said  Frank,  who  saw 
that  it  was  the  fit  moment  for  the  grand  assault 
which  he  had  planned  all  along ;  "  let  me  give  you 
a  health  which  none  of  you,  I  dare  say,  will  refuse 
to  drink  with  heart  and  soul  as  well  as  with  lips ; 
—  the  health  of  one  whom  beauty  and  virtue  have 
so  ennobled,  that  in  their  light  the  shadow  of  lowly 
birth  is  unseen ;  —  the  health  of  one  whom  I  would 
proclaim  as  peerless  in  loveliness,  were  it  not  that 
every  gentleman  here  has  sisters,  who  might  well 
challenge  from  her  the  girdle  of  Venus :  and  yet 
what  else  dare  I  say,  while  those  same  lovely  ladies 
who,  if  they  but  use  their  own  mirrors,  must  needs 
be  far  better  judges  of  beauty  than  I  can  be,  have 
in  my  own  hearing  again  and  again  assigned  the 
palm  to  her  ?  Surely,  if  the  goddesses  decide  among 
themselves  the  question  of  the  golden  apple,  Paris 
himself  must  vacate  the  judgment-seat.  Gentle- 
men, your  hearts,  I  doubt  not,  have  already  bid 
you,  as  my  unworthy  lips  do  now,  to  drink  '  The 
Rose  of  Torridge.' " 

If  the  Rose  of  Torridge  herself  had  walked  into 
the  room,  she  could  hardly  have  caused  more  blank 
astonishment  than  Frank's  bold  speech.  Every 
guest  turned  red,  and  pale,  and  red  again,  and 
looked  at  the  other  as  much  as  to  say,  "What 
right  has  any  one  but  I  to  drink  her?  Lift  your 


The  Brotherhood  of  the  Rose     251 

glass,  and  I  will  dash  it  out  of  your  hand  ;  "  but 
Frank,  with  sweet  effrontery,  drank  "The  health 
of  the  Rose  of  Torridge,  and  a  double  health  to 
that  worthy  gentleman,  whosoever  he  may  be, 
whom  she  is  fated  to  honor  with  her  love !  " 

"Well  done,  cunning  Frank  Leigh  !  "  cried  blunt 
Will  Gary ;  "  none  of  us  dare  quarrel  with  you 
now,  however  much  we  may  sulk  at  each  other. 
For  there 's  none  of  us,  I  '11  warrant,  but  thinks 
that  she  likes  him  the  best  of  all ;  and  so  we  are 
bound  to  believe  that  you  have  drunk  our  healths 
all  round." 

"  And  so  I  have :  and  what  better  thing  can  you 
do,  gentlemen,  than  to  drink  each  other's  healths  all 
round  likewise :  and  so  show  yourselves  true  gen- 
tlemen, true  Christians,  ay,  and  true  lovers?  For 
what  is  love  (let  me  speak  freely  to  you,  gentlemen 
and  guests),  what  is  love,  but  the  very  inspiration 
of  that  Deity  whose  name  is  Love  ?  Be  sure  that 
not  without  reason  did  the  ancients  feign  Eros  to 
be  the  eldest  of  the  gods,  by  whom  the  jarring  ele- 
ments of  chaos  were  attuned  into  harmony  and 
order.  How,  then,  shall  lovers  make  him  the 
father  of  strife?  Shall  Psyche  wed  with  Cupid,  to 
bring  forth  a  cockatrice's  egg?  or  the  soul  be  filled 
with  love,  the  likeness  of  the  immortals,  to  burn 
with  envy  and  jealousy,  division  and  distrust? 
True,  the  rose  has  its  thorn :  but  it  leaves  poison 
and  stings  to  the  nettle.  Cupid  has  his  arrow: 
but  he  hurls  no  scorpions.  Venus  is  awful  when 
despised,  as  the  daughters  of  Proetus  found :  but 
her  handmaids  are  the  Graces,  not  the  Furies. 
Surely  he  who  loves  aright  will  not  only  find  love 
lovely,  but  become  himself  lovely  also.  I  speak 
not  to  reprehend  you,  gentlemen;  for  to  you  (as 


252  Westward  Ho ! 

your  piercing  wits  have  already  perceived,  to  judge 
by  your  honorable  blushes)  my  discourse  tends; 
but  to  point  you,  if  you  will  but  permit  me,  to  that 
rock  which  I  myself  have,  I  know  not  by  what 
Divine  good  hap,  attained ;  if,  indeed,  I  have  at- 
tained it,  and  am  not  about  to  be  washed  off  again 
by  the  next  tide." 

Frank's  rapid  and  fantastic  oratory,  utterly  un- 
expected as  it  was,  had  as  yet  left  their  wits  no 
time  to  set  their  tempers  on  fire;  but  when,  weak 
from  his  wounds,  he  paused  for  breath,  there  was 
a  haughty  murmur  from  more  than  one  young 
gentleman,  who  took  his  speech  as  an  imperti- 
nent interference  with  each  man's  right  to  make 
a  fool  of  himself;  and  Mr.  Coffin,  who  had  sat 
quietly  bolt  upright,  and  looking  at  the  opposite 
wall,  now  rose  as  quietly,  and  with  a  face  which 
tried  to  look  utterly  unconcerned,  was  walking 
out  of  the  room :  another  minute,  and  Lady  Bath's 
prophecy  about  the  feast  of  the  Lapithae  might 
have  come  true. 

But  Frank's  heart  and  head  never  failed  him. 

"  Mr.  Coffin !  "  said  he,  in  a  tone  which  com- 
pelled that  gentleman  to  turn  round,  and  so 
brought  him  under  the  power  of  a  face  which 
none  could  have  beheld  for  five  minutes  and 
borne  malice,  so  imploring,  tender,  earnest  was  it. 
"  My  dear  Mr.  Coffin !  If  my  earnestness  has 
made  me  forget  even  for  a  moment  the  bounds  of 
courtesy,  let  me  entreat  you  to  forgive  me.  Do 
not  add  to  my  heavy  griefs,  heavy  enough  already, 
the  grief  of  losing  a  friend.  Only  hear  me  patiently 
to  the  end  (generously,  I  know,  you  will  hear  me) ; 
and  then,  if  you  are  still  incensed,  I  can  but  again 
entreat  your  forgiveness  a  second  time." 


The  Brotherhood  of  the  Rose    253 

Mr.  Coffin,  to  tell  the  truth,  had  at  that  time 
never  been  to  Court ;  and  he  was  therefore  some- 
what jealous  of  Frank,  and  his  Court  talk,  and  his 
Court  clothes,  and  his  Court  company;  and  more- 
over, being  the  eldest  of  the  guests,  and  only  two 
years  younger  than  Frank  himself,  he  was  a  little 
nettled  at  being  classed  in  the  same  category  with 
some  who  were  scarce  eighteen.  And  if  Frank 
had  given  the  least  hint  which  seemed  to  assume 
his  own  superiority,  all  had  been  lost:  but  when, 
instead  thereof,  he  sued  in  formd  pattperis,  and 
threw  himself  upon  Coffin's  mercy,  the  latter, 
who  was  a  true-hearted  man  enough,  and  after 
all  had  known  Frank  ever  since  either  of  them 
could  walk,  had  nothing  to  do  but  to  sit  down 
again  and  submit,  while  Frank  went  on  more 
earnestly  than  ever. 

"  Believe  me ;  believe  me,  Mr.  Coffin,  and  gentle- 
men all,  I  no  more  arrogate  to  myself  a  superiority 
over  you  than  does  the  sailor  hurled  on  shore 
by  the  surge  fancy  himself  better  than  his  com- 
rade who  is  still  battling  with  the  foam.  For  I 
too,  gentlemen,  —  let  me  confess  it,  that  by  con- 
fiding in  you  I  may,  perhaps,  win  you  to  confide 
in  me,  —  have  loved,  ay  and  do  love,  where  you 
love  also.  Do  not  start.  Is  it  a  matter  of  won- 
der that  the  sun  which  has  dazzled  you  has  daz- 
zled me ;  that  the  lodestone  which  has  drawn  you 
has  drawn  me?  Do  not  frown,  either,  gentlemen. 
I  have  learnt  to  love  you  for  loving  what  I  love, 
and  to  admire  you  for  admiring  that  which  I 
admire.  Will  you  not  try  the  same  lesson:  so 
easy,  and,  when  learnt,  so  blissful?  What  breeds 
more  close  communion  between  subjects  than 
allegiance  to  the  same  queen?  between  brothers, 


254  Westward  Ho  ! 

than  duty  to  the  same  father?  between  the  de- 
vout, than  adoration  for  the  same  Deity?  And 
shall  not  worship  for  the  same  beauty  be  likewise 
a  bond  of  love  between  the  worshippers  ?  and  each 
lover  see  in  his  rival  not  an  enemy,  but  a  fel- 
low-sufferer? You  smile  and  say  in  your  hearts, 
that  though  all  may  worship,  but  one  can  enjoy; 
and  that  one  man's  meat  must  be  the  poison  of 
the  rest.  Be  it  so,  though  I  deny  it.  Shall  we 
anticipate  our  own  doom,  and  slay  ourselves  for 
fear  of  dying?  Shall  we  make  ourselves  unworthy 
of  her  from  our  very  eagerness  to  win  her,  and 
show  ourselves  her  faithful  knights,  by  cherishing 
envy,  —  most  unknightly  of  all  sins?  Shall  we 
dream  with  the  Italian  or  the  Spaniard  that  we 
can  become  more  amiable  in  a  lady's  eyes,  by 
becoming  hateful  in  the  eyes  of  God  and  of  each 
other?  Will  she  love  us  the  better,  if  we  come  to 
her  with  hands  stained  in  the  blood  of  him  whom 
she  loves  better  than  us?  Let  us  recollect  our- 
selves rather,  gentlemen ;  and  be  sure  that  our 
only  chance  of  winning  her,  if  she  be  worth  win- 
ning, is  to  will  what  she  wills,  honor  whom  she 
honors,  love  whom  she  loves.  If  there  is  to  be 
rivalry  among  us,  let  it  be  a  rivalry  in  nobleness, 
an  emulation  in  virtue.  Let  each  try  to  outstrip 
the  other  in  loyalty  to  his  queen,  in  valor  against 
her  foes,  in  deeds  of  courtesy  and  mercy  to  the 
afflicted  and  oppressed ;  and  thus  our  love  will 
indeed  prove  its  own  divine  origin,  by  raising  us 
nearer  to  those  gods  whose  gift  it  is.  But  yet  I 
show  you  a  more  excellent  way,  and  that  is 
charity.  Why  should  we  not  make  this  common 
love  to  her,  whom  I  am  unworthy  to  name,  the 
sacrament  of  a  common  love  to  each  other? 


The  Brotherhood  of  the  Rose    255 

Why  should  we  not  follow  the  heroical  examples 
of  those  ancient  knights,  who  having  but  one 
grief,  one  desire,  one  goddess,  held  that  one 
heart  was  enough  to  contain  that  grief,  to  nour- 
ish that  desire,  to  worship  that  divinity;  and  so 
uniting  themselves  in  friendship  till  they  became 
but  one  soul  in  two  bodies,  lived  only  for  each 
other  in  living  only  for  her,  vowing  as  faithful 
worshippers  to  abide  by  her  decision,  to  find  their 
own  bliss  in  hers,  and  whomsoever  she  esteemed 
tnost  worthy  of  her  love,  to  esteem  most  worthy 
also,  and  count  themselves,  by  that  her  choice, 
the  bounden  servants  of  him  whom  their  mistress 
had  condescended  to  advance  to  the  dignity  of  her 
master?  —  as  I  (not  without  hope  that  I  shall  be 
outdone  in  generous  strife)  do  here  promise  to  be 
the  faithful  friend,  and,  to  my  ability,  the  hearty 
servant,  of  him  who  shall  be  honored  with  the 
love  of  the  Rose  of  Torridge." 

He  ceased,  and  there  was  a  pause. 

At  last  young  Fortescue  spoke. 

"  I  may  be  paying  you  a  left-handed  compli- 
ment, sir:  but  it  seems  to  me  that  you  are  so 
likely,  in  that  case,  to  become  your  own  faithful 
friend  and  hearty  servant  (even  if  you  have  not 
borne  off  the  bell  already  while  we  have  been 
asleep),  that  the  bargain  is  hardly  fair  between 
such  a  gay  Italianist  and  us  country  swains." 

"  You  undervalue  yourself  and  your  country, 
my  dear  sir.  But  set  your  mind  at  rest.  I  know 
no  more  of  that  lady's  mind  than  you  do :  nor 
shall  I  know.  For  the  sake  of  my  own  peace,  I 
have  made  a  vow  neither  to  see  her,  nor  to  hear,  if 
possible,  tidings  of  her,  till  three  full  years  are 
past.  Dixi?" 


256  Westward  Ho ! 

Mr.  Coffin  rose. 

"Gentlemen,  I  may  submit  to  be  outdone  by 
Mr.  Leigh  in  eloquence,  but  not  in  generosity ;  if 
he  leaves  these  parts  for  three  years,  I  do  so 
also." 

"  And  go  in  charity  with  all  mankind,"  said 
Gary.  "  Give  us  your  hand,  old  fellow.  If  you 
are  a  Coffin,  you  were  sawn  out  of  no  wishy-washy 
elm-board,  but  right  heart-of-oak.  I  am  going, 
too,  as  Amyas  here  can  tell,  to  Ireland  away,  to 
cool  my  hot  liver  in  a  bog,  like  a  Jack-hare  in 
March.  Come,  give  us  thy  neif,  and  let  us  part  in 
peace.  I  was  minded  to  have  fought  thee  this 
day " 

"  I  should  have  been  most  happy,  sir,"  said 
Coffin. 

—  "  But  now  I  am  all  love  and  charity  to  man- 
kind. Can  I  have  the  pleasure  of  begging  pardon 
of  the  world  in  general,  and  thee  in  particular? 
Does  any  one  wish  to  pull  my  nose ;  send  me  an 
errand ;  make  me  lend  him  five  pounds ;  ay,  make 
me  buy  a  horse  of  him,  which  will  be  as  good  as 
giving  him  ten?  Come  along!  Join  hands  all 
round,  and  swear  eternal  friendship,  as  brothers  of 
the  sacred  order  of  the  —  of  what.  Frank  Leigh? 
Open  thy  mouth,  Daniel,  and  christen  us !  " 

"  The  Rose ! "  said  Frank  quietly,  seeing  that 
his  new  love-philtre  was  working  well,  and  deter- 
mined to  strike  while  the  iron  was  hot,  and  carry 
the  matter  too  far  to  carry  it  back  again. 

"  The  Rose !  "  cried  Gary,  catching  hold  of 
Coffin's  hand  with  his  right,  and  Fortescue's  with 
his  left.  "  Come,  Mr.  Coffin  !  Bend,  sturdy  oak ! 
'  Woe  to  the  stiffnecked  and  stout-hearted  !  *  says 
Scripture." 


The  Brotherhood  of  the  Rose    257 

And  somehow  or  other,  whether  it  was  Frank's 
chivalrous  speech,  or  Gary's  fun,  or  Amyas's  good 
wine,  or  the  nobleness  which  lies  in  every  young 
lad's  heart,  if  their  elders  will  take  the  trouble  to 
call  it  out,  the  whole  party  came  in  to  terms  one 
by  one,  shook  hands  all  round,  and  vowed  on  the 
hilt  of  Amyas's  sword  to  make  fools  of  themselves 
no  more,  at  least  by  jealousy:  but  to  stand  by 
each  other  and  by  their  lady-love,  and  neither 
grudge  nor  grumble,  let  her  dance  with,  flirt  with, 
or  marry  with  whom  she  would ;  and  in  order  that 
the  honor  of  their  peerless  dame,  and  the  brother- 
hood which  was  named  after  her,  might  be  spread 
through  all  lands,  and  equal  that  of  Angelica  or 
Isonde  of  Brittany,  they  would  each  go  home,  and 
ask  their  fathers'  leave  (easy  enough  to  obtain  in 
those  brave  times)  to  go  abroad  wheresoever  there 
were  "  good  wars,"  to  emulate  there  the  courage 
and  the  courtesy  of  Walter  Manny  and  Gonzalo 
Fernandes,  Bayard  and  Gaston  de  Foix.  Why 
not?  Sidney  was  the  hero  of  Europe  at  five-and- 
twenty;  and  why  not  they? 

And  Frank  watched  and  listened  with  one  of  his 
quiet  smiles  (his  eyes,  as  some  folks'  do,  smiled  even 
when  his  lips  were  still),  and  only  said :  "  Gentle- 
men, be  sure  that  you  will  never  repent  this  day." 

'•  Repent?  "  said  Gary.  "  I  feel  already  as  angel- 
ical as  thou  lookest,  Saint  Silvertongue.  What 
was  it  that  sneezed  ?  —  the  cat?  " 

"  The  lion,  rather,  by  the  roar  of  it,"  said  Amyas, 
making  a  dash  at  the  arras  behind  him.  "  Why, 
here  is  a  doorway  here  !  and " 

And  rushing  under  the  arras,  through  an  open 
door   behind,  he  returned,   dragging  out  by  the 
head  Mr.  John  Brimblecombe. 
VoLft-12 


258  Westward  Ho! 

Who  was  Mr.  John  Brimblecombe? 

If  you  have  forgotten  him,  you  have  done  pretty 
nearly  what  every  one  else  in  the  room  had  done. 
But  you  recollect  a  certain  fat  lad,  son  of  the 
schoolmaster,  whom  Sir  Richard  punished  for  tale- 
bearing three  years  before,  by  sending  him,  not 
to  Coventry,  but  to  Oxford.  That  was  the  man. 
He  was  now  one-and-twenty,  and  a  bachelor  of 
Oxford,  where  he  had  learnt  such  things  as  were 
taught  in  those  days,  with  more  or  less  success ; 
and  he  was  now  hanging  about  Bideford  once 
more,  intending  to  return  after  Christmas  and 
read  divinity,  that  he  might  become  a  parson, 
and  a  shepherd  of  souls  in  his  native  land. 

Jack  was  in  person  exceedingly  like  a  pig :  but 
not  like  every  pig :  not  in  the  least  like  the  Devon 
pigs  of  those  days,  which,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  were 
no  more  shapely  than  the  true  Irish  greyhound 
who  pays  Pat's  "  rint "  for  him ;  or  than  the  lanky 
monsters  who  wallow  in  German  rivulets,  while 
the  village  swineherd,  beneath  a  shady  lime,  for- 
gets his  fleas  in  the  melody  of  a  Jew's  harp  — 
strange  mud-colored  creatures,  four  feet  high  and 
four  inches  thick,  which  look  as  if  they  had  passed 
their  lives,  as  a  collar  of  Oxford  brawn  is  said  to 
do,  between  two  tight  boards.  Such  were  then 
the  pigs  of  Devon:  not  to  be  compared  with 
the  true  wild  descendant  of  Noah's  stock,  high- 
withered,  furry,  grizzled,  game-flavored  little  rook- 
lers,  whereof  many  a  sownder  still  grunted  about 
Swinley  down  and  Braunton  woods,  Clovelly  glens 
and  Bursdon  moor.  Not  like  these,  nor  like  the 
tame  abomination  of  those  barbarous  times,  was 
Jack :  but  prophetic  in  face,  figure,  and  complex- 
ion, of  Fisher  Hobbs  and  the  triumphs  of  science. 


The  Brotherhood  of  the  Rose     259 

A  Fisher  Hobbs'  pig  of  twelve  stone,  on  his  hind- 
legs —  that  was  what  he  was,  and  nothing  else; 
and  if  you  do  not  know,  reader,  what  a  Fisher 
Hobbs  is,  you  know  nothing  about  pigs,  and  de- 
serve no  bacon  for  breakfast.  But  such  was  Jack. 
The  same  plump  mulberry  complexion,  garnished 
with  a  few  scattered  black  bristles ;  the  same  sleek 
skin,  looking  always  as  if  it  was  upon  the  point  of 
bursting ;  the  same  little  toddling  legs ;  the  same 
dapper  bend  in  the  small  of  the  back ;  the  same 
cracked  squeak;  the  same  low  upright  forehead, 
and  tiny  eyes ;  the  same  round  self-satisfied  jowl ; 
the  same  charming  sensitive  little  cocked  nose, 
always  on  the  look-out  for  a  savory  smell,  —  and 
yet  while  watching  for  the  best,  contented  with 
the  worst ;  a  pig  of  self-helpful  and  serene  spirit, 
as  Jack  was,  and  therefore,  like  him,  fatting  fast 
while  other  pigs'  ribs  are  staring  through  their 
skins. 

Such  was  Jack ;  and  lucky  it  was  for  him  that 
such  he  was;  for  it  was  little  that  he  got  to  fat 
him  at  Oxford,  in  days  when  a  servitor  meant 
really  a  servant-student;  and  wistfully  that  day 
did  his  eyes,  led  by  his  nose,  survey  at  the  end  of 
the  Ship  Inn  passage  the  preparations  for  Amyas's 
supper.  The  innkeeper  was  a  friend  of  his ;  for, 
in  the  first  place,  they  had  lived  within  three  doors 
of  each  other  all  their  lives ;  and  next,  Jack  was 
quite  pleasant  company  enough,  beside  being  a 
learned  man  and  an  Oxford  scholar,  to  be  asked 
in  now  and  then  to  the  innkeeper's  private  parlor, 
when  there  were  no  gentlemen  there,  to  crack  his 
little  joke  and  tell  his  little  story,  sip  the  leavings 
of  the  guests'  sack,  and  sometimes  help  the  host 
to  eat  the  leavings  of  their  supper.  And  it  was, 


260  Westward  Ho  ! 

perhaps,  with  some  such  hope  that  Jack  trotted 
off  round  the  corner  to  the  Ship  that  very  after- 
noon; for  that  faithful  little  nose  of  his,  as  it 
sniffed  out  of  a  back  window  of  the  school,  had 
given  him  warning  of  Sabean  gales,  and  scents  of 
Paradise,  from  the  inn  kitchen  below;  so  he  went 
round,  and  asked  for  his  pot  of  small  ale  (his  only 
luxury),  and  stood  at  the  bar  to  drink  it;  and 
looked  inward  with  his  little  twinkling  right  eye, 
and  sniffed  inward  with  his  little  curling  right  nos- 
tril, and  beheld,  in  the  kitchen  beyond,  salad  in 
stacks  and  fagots:  salad  of  lettuce,  salad  of  cress 
and  endive,  salad  of  boiled  coleworts,  salad  of 
pickled  coleworts,  salad  of  angelica,  salad  of 
scurvy-wort,  and  seven  salads  more ;  for  potatoes 
were  not  as  yet,  and  salads  were  during  eight 
months  of  the  year  the  only  vegetable.  And  on 
the  dresser,  and  before  the  fire,  whole  hecatombs 
of  fragrant  victims,  which  needed  neither  frankin- 
cense nor  myrrh ;  Clovelly  herrings  and  Torridge 
salmon,  Exmoor  mutton  and  Stow  venison,  stubble 
geese  and  woodcocks,  curlew  and  snipe,  hams  of 
Hampshire,  chitterlings  of  Taunton,  and  botargos 
of  Cadiz,  such  as  Pantagruel  himself  might  have 
devoured.  And  Jack  eyed  them,  as  a  ragged  boy 
eyes  the  cakes  in  a  pastrycook's  window;  and 
thought  of  the  scraps  from  the  commoners'  dinner, 
which  were  his  wages  for  cleaning  out  the  hall ; 
and  meditated  deeply  on  the  unequal  distribution 
of  human  bliss. 

"  Ah,  Mr.  Brimblecombe  !  "  said  the  host,  bust- 
ling out  with  knife  and  apron  to  cool  himself  in 
the  passage.  "  Here  are  doings !  Nine  gentle- 
men to  supper !  " 

"  Nine  !     Are  they  going  to  eat  all  that?  " 


The  Brotherhood  of  the  Rose    261 

"Well,  I  can't  say  —  that  Mr.  Amyas  is  as  good 
as  three  to  his  trencher :  but  still  there 's  crumbs, 
Mr.  Brimblecombe,  crumbs ;  and  waste  not  want 
not  is  my  doctrine ;  so  you  and  I  may  have  a 
somewhat  to  stay  our  stomachs,  about  an  eight 
o'clock." 

"Eight?"  said  Jack,  looking  wistfully  at  the 
clock.  "  It 's  but  four  now.  Well,  it 's  kind  of 
you,  and  perhaps  I  '11  look  in." 

"  Just  you  step  in  now,  and  look  to  this  venison. 
There 's  a  breast !  you  may  lay  your  two  fingers 
into  the  say  there,  and  not  get  to  the  bottom  of 
the  fat.  That's  Sir  Richard's  sending.  He's  all 
for  them  Leighs,  and  no  wonder,  they'm  brave 
lads,  surely ;  and  there 's  a  saddle-o'-mutton !  I 
rode  twenty  miles  for  mun  yesterday,  I  did,  over 
beyond  Barnstaple;  and  five  year  old,  Mr.  John, 
it  is,  if  ever  five  years  was ;  and  not  a  tooth  to 
mun's  head,  for  I  looked  to  that;  and  smelt  all 
the  way  home  like  any  apple ;  and  if  it  don't  ate 
so  soft  as  ever  was  scald  cream,  never  you  call  me 
Thomas  Burman." 

"Humph!"  said  Jack.  "And  that's  their 
dinner.  Well,  some  are  born  with  a  silver  spoon 
in  their  mouth." 

"  Some  be  born  with  roast  beef  in  their  mouths, 
and  plum-pudding  in  their  pocket  to  take  away 
the  taste  o'  mun ;  and  that 's  better  than  empty 
spunes,  eh?" 

"  For  them  that  get  it,"  said  Jack.  "  But  for 
them  that  don't "  And  with  a  sigh  he  re- 
turned to  his  small  ale,  and  then  lingered  in 
and  out  of  the  inn,  watching  the  dinner  as  it 
went  into  the  best  room,  where  the  guests  were 
assembled. 


262  Westward  Ho! 

And  as  he  lounged  there,  Amyas  went  in,  and 
saw  him,  and  held  out  his  hand,  and  said  — 

"  Hillo,  Jack !  how  goes  the  world  ?  How 
you  've  grown  !  "  and  passed  on ;  —  what  had  Jack 
Brimblecombe  to  do  with  Rose  Salterne  ? 

So  Jack  lingered  on,  hovering  around  the  fra- 
grant smell  like  a  fly  round  a  honey-pot,  till  he 
found  himself  invisibly  attracted,  and  as  it  were 
led  by  the  nose  out  of  the  passage  into  the  ad- 
joining room,  and  to  that  side  of  the  room 
where  there  was  a  door;  and  once  there  he 
could  not  help  hearing  what  passed  inside;  till 
Rose  Salterne's  name  fell  on  his  ear.  So,  as  it 
was  ordained,  he  was  taken  in  the  fact.  And 
now  behold  him  brought  in  red-hand  to  judgment, 
not  without  a  kick  or  two  from  the  wrathful  foot 
of  Amyas  Leigh.  Whereat  there  fell  on  him  a 
storm  of  abuse,  which,  for  the  honor  of  that  gallant 
company,  I  shall  not  give  in  detail;  but  which 
abuse,  strange  to  say,  seemed  to  have  no  effect  on 
the  impenitent  and  unabashed  Jack,  who,  as  soon 
as  he  could  get  his  breath,  made  answer  fiercely, 
amid  much  puffing  and  blowing. 

"What  business  have  I  here?  As  much  as 
any  of  you.  If  you  had  asked  me  in,  I  would 
have  come :  but  as  you  did  n't,  I  came  without 
asking." 

"  You  shameless  rascal !  "  said  Gary.  "  Come  if 
you  were  asked,  where  there  was  good  wine  ?  I  '11 
warrant  you  for  that !  " 

"  Why,"  said  Amyas,  "  no  lad  ever  had  a  cake 
at  school  but  he  would  dog  him  up  one  street  and 
down  another  all  day  for  the  crumbs,  the  trencher- 
scraping  spaniel !  " 

"  Patience,  masters  !  "  said  Frank.     "  That  Jack's 


The  Brotherhood  of  the  Rose     263 

is  somewhat  of  a  gnathonic  and  parasitic  soul,  or 
stomach,  all  Bideford  apple-women  know ;  but  I 
suspect  more  than  Deus  Venter  has  brought  him 
hither." 

"  Deus  eavesdropping,  then.  We  shall  have  the 
whole  story  over  the  town  by  to-morrow,"  said 
another ;  beginning  at  that  thought  to  feel  some- 
what ashamed  of  his  late  enthusiasm. 

"  Ah,  Mr.  Frank !  You  were  always  the  only 
one  that  would  stand  up  for  me !  Deus  Venter, 
quotha?  'T  was  fieus  Cupid,  it  was  !  " 

A  roar  of  laughter  followed  this  announcement. 

"What?"  asked  Frank;  "was  it  Cupid,  then, 
who  sneezed  approval  to  our  love,  Jack,  as  he  did 
to  that  of  Dido  and  ydieas  ?  " 

But  Jack  went  on  desperately. 

"  I  was  in  the  next  room,  drinking  of  my  beer. 
I  could  n't  help  that,  could  I  ?     And  then  I  heard 
•  her   name ;  and   I   could  n't   help   listening  then. 
Flesh  and  blood  could  n't." 

"  Nor  fat  either !  " 

"No,  nor  fat,  Mr.  Cary.  Do  you  suppose  fat 
men  have  n't  souls  to  be  saved  as  well  as  thin  ones, 
and  hearts  to  burst,  too,  as  well  as  stomachs? 
Fat!  Fat  can  feel,  I  reckon,  as  well  as  lean. 
Do  you  suppose  there  's  naught  inside  here  but 
beer?" 

And  he  laid  his  hand,  as  Drayton  might  have 
said,  on  that  stout  bastion,  hornwork,  ravelin,  or 
demilune,  which  formed  the  outworks  to  the  cita- 
del of  his  purple  isle  of  man. 

"  Naught  but  beer?  —  Cheese,  I  suppose?  " 

"  Bread  ?  " 

"  Beef?  " 

"  Love  !  "  cried  Jack.     "  Yes,  Love  !  — Ay,  you 


264  Westward  Ho ! 

laugh ;  but  my  eyes  are  not  so  grown  up  with  fat 
but  what  I  can  see  what 's  fair  as  well  as  you." 

"  Oh,  Jack,  naughty  Jack,  dost  thou  heap  sin  on 
sin,  and  luxury  on  gluttony?" 

"  Sin?  If  I  sin,  you  sin:  I  tell  you,  and  I  don't 
care  who  knows  it,  I  Ve  loved  her  these  three  years 
as  well  as  e'er  a  one  of  you,  I  have.  I  Ve  thought 
o'  nothing  else,  prayed  for  nothing  else,  God  for- 
give me !  And  then  you  laugh  at  me,  because 
I  'm  a  poor  parson's  son,  and  you  fine  gentlemen : 
God  made  us  both,  I  reckon.  You?  —  you  make 
a  deal  of  giving  her  up  to-day.  Why,  it 's  what 
I  Ve  done  for  three  miserable  years  as  ever  poor 
sinner  spent ;  ay,  from  the  first  day  I  said  to  my- 
self, '  Jack,  if  you  can't  have  that  pearl,  you  '11 
have  none ;  and  that  you  can't  have,  for  it 's  meat 
for  your  masters:  so  conquer  or  die.'  And  I 
could  n't  conquer.  I  can't  help  loving  her,  wor- 
shipping her,  no  more  than  you ;  and  I  will  die : 
but  you  need  n't  laugh  meanwhile  at  me  that  have 
done  as  much  as  you,  and  will  do  again." 

"It  is  the  old  tale,"  said  Frank  to  himself; 
"  whom  will  not  love  transform  into  a  hero  ? " 

And  so  it  was.  Jack's  squeaking  voice  was 
firm  and  manly,  his  pig's  eyes  flashed  very  fire, 
his  gestures  were  so  free  and  earnest,  that  the  un- 
gainliness  of  his  figure  was  forgotten;  and  when 
he  finished  with  a  violent  burst  of  tears,  Frank, 
forgetting  his  wounds,  sprang  up  and  caught  him 
by  the  hand. 

"  John  Brimblecombe,  forgive  me !  Gentlemen, 
if  we  are  gentlemen,  we  ought  to  ask  his  pardon. 
Has  he  not  shown  already  more  chivalry,  more 
self-denial,  and  therefore  more  true  love,  than  any 
of  us?  My  friends,  let  the  fierceness  of  affection, 


The  Brotherhood  of  the  Rose    265 

which  we  have  used  as  an  excuse  for  many  a  sin 
of  our  own,  excuse  his  listening  to  a  conversation 
in  which  he  well  deserved  to  bear  a  part." 

"  Ah,"  said  Jack,  "  you  make  me  one  of  your 
brotherhood ;  and  see  if  I  do  not  dare  to  suffer 
as  much  as  any  of  you!  You  laugh?  Do  you 
fancy  none  can  use  a  sword  unless  he  has  a  baker's 
dozen  of  quarterings  in  his  arms,  or  that  Oxford 
scholars  know  only  how  to  handle  a  pen?  " 

"  Let  us  try  his  metal,"  said  St.  Leger.  "  Here 's 
my  sword,  Jack;  draw,  Coffin!  and  have  at  him." 

"  Nonsense  !  "  said  Coffin,  looking  somewhat 
disgusted  at  the  notion  of  fighting  a  man  of  Jack's 
rank;  but  Jack  caught  at  the  weapon  offered  to 
him. 

"  Give  me  a  buckler,  and  have  at  any  of  you  !  " 

"  Here 's  a  chair  bottom,"  cried  Cary ;  and  Jack, 
seizing  it  in  his  left,  flourished  his  sword  so  fiercely, 
and  called  so  loudly  to  Coffin  to  come  on,  that 
all  present  found  it  necessary,  unless  they  wished 
blood  to  be  spilt,  to  turn  the  matter  off  with  a 
laugh:  but  Jack  would  not  hear  of  it. 

"  Nay :  if  you  will  let  me  be  of  your  brother- 
hood, well  and  good :  but  if  not,  one  or  other  I 
will  fight:  and  that's  flat." 

"  You  see,  gentlemen,"  said  Amyas,  "  we  must 
admit  him  or  die  the  death ;  so  we  needs  must  go 
when  Sir  Urian  drives.  Come  up,  Jack,  and  take 
the  oaths.  You  admit  him,  gentlemen?" 

"  Let  me  but  be  your  chaplain,"  said  Jack,  "  and 
pray  for  your  luck  when  you  're  at  the  wars.  If 
I  do  stay  at  home  in  a  country  curacy,  'tis  not 
much  that  you  need  be  jealous  of  me  with  her, 
I  reckon,"  said  Jack,  with  a  pathetical  glance  at 
his  own  stomach. 


266  Westward  Ho ! 

"  Sia! "  said  Gary :  "  but  if  he  be  admitted,  it 
must  be  done  according  to  the  solemn  forms  and 
ceremonies  in  such  cases  provided.  Take  him 
into  the  next  room,  Amyas,  and  prepare  him 
for  his  initiation." 

"What's  that?"  asked  Amyas,  puzzled  by  the 
word.  But  judging  from  the  corner  of  Will's  eye 
that  initiation  was  Latin  for  a  practical  joke,  he 
led  forth  his  victim  behind  the  arras  -again,  and 
waited  five  minutes  while  the  room  was  being 
darkened,  till  Frank's  voice  called  to  him  to  bring 
in  the  neophyte. 

"John  Brimblecombe,"  said  Frank,  in  a  sepul- 
chral tone,  "  you  cannot  be  ignorant,  as  a  scholar 
and  bachelor  of  Oxford,  of  that  dread  sacrament 
by  which  Catiline  bound  the  soul  of  his  fellow- 
conspirators,  in  order  that  both  by  the  daring  of 
the  deed  he  might  have  proof  of  their  sincerity, 
and  by  the  horror  thereof  astringe  their  souls  by 
adamantine  fetters,  and  Novem-Stygian  oaths,  to 
that  wherefrom  hereafter  the  weakness  of  the  flesh 
might  shrink.  Wherefore,  O  Jack!  we  too  have 
determined,  following  that  ancient  and  classical 
example,  to  fill,  as  he  did,  a  bowl  with  the  life- 
blood  of  our  most  heroic  selves,  and  to  pledge 
each  other  therein,  with  vows  whereat  the  stars 
shall  tremble  in  their  spheres,  and  Luna,  blush- 
ing, veil  her  silver  cheeks.  Your  blood  alone  is 
wanted  to  fill  up  the  goblet.  Sit  down,  John 
Brimblecombe,  and  bare  your  arm  !  " 

"  But,  Mr.  Frank ! "  said  Jack,  who  was  as 

superstitious  as  any  old  wife,  and,  what  with  the 
darkness  and  the  discourse,  already  in  a  cold 
perspiration. 

"  But  me  no  buts !  or  depart  as  recreant,  not  by 


The  Brotherhood  of  the  Rose     267 

the  door  like  a  man,  but  up  the  chimney  like  a 
flittermouse." 

"  But,  Mr.  Frank !  " 

"  Thy  vital  juice,  or  the  chimney !  Choose  !  " 
roared  Gary  in  his  ear. 

"Well,  if  I  must,"  said  Jack;  "  but  it 's  desperate 
hard  that  because  you  can't  keep  faith  without 
these  barbarous  oaths,  I  must  take  them  too,  that 
have  kept  faith  these  three  years  without  any." 

At  this  pathetic  appeal  Frank  nearly  melted: 
but  Amyas  and  Gary  had  thrust  the  victim  into  a 
chair  and  all  was  prepared  for  the  sacrifice. 

"  Bind  his  eyes,  according  to  the  classic  fashion, " 
said  Will. 

"Oh  no,  dear  Mr.  Gary;  I'll  shut  them  tight 
enough,  I  warrant:  but  not  with  your  dagger, 
dear  Mr.  William  —  sure,  not  with  your  dagger? 
I  can't  afford  to  lose  blood,  though  I  do  look 
lusty  —  I  can't  indeed;  sure,  a  pin  would  do  — 
I  've  got  one  here,  to  my  sleeve,  somewhere  — 
Oh!" 

"  See  the  fount  of  generous  juice  !  Flow  on, 
fair  stream.  How  he  bleeds !  —  pints,  quarts ! 
Ah,  this  proves  him  to  be  in  earnest !  " 

"A  true  lover's  blood  is  always  at  his  fingers' 
ends." 

"He  does  not  grudge  it;  of  course  not.  Eh, 
Jack?  What  matters  an  odd  gallon  for  her 
sake?" 

"For  her  sake?  Nothing,  nothing  !  Take  my 
life,  if  you  will :  but  —  oh,  gentlemen,  a  surgeon, 
if  you  love  me !  I  'm  going  off  —  I  'm  fainting !  " 

"  Drink,  then,  quick ;  drink  and  swear !  Pat 
his  back,  Gary.  Courage,  man !  it  will  be  over 
in  a  minute.  Now,  Frank!  " 


268  Westward  Ho  I 

And  Frank  spoke  — 

"  If  plighted  troth  I  fail,  or  secret  speech  reveal, 
May  Cocytean  ghosts  around  my  pillow  squeal; 
While  Ate's  brazen  claws  distringe  my  spleen  in  sunder, 
And  drag  me  deep  to  Pluto's  keep,  'mid  brimstone,  smoke, 
and  thunder ! " 

"  Placetne,  dominef  " 

"Placet!"  squeaked  Jack,  who  thought  himself 
at  the  last  gasp,  and  gulped  down  full  three- 
quarters  of  the  goblet  which  Gary  held  to  his 
lips. 

"  Ugh  —  Ah  —  Puh !  Mercy  on  us  !  It  tastes 
mighty  like  wine  !  " 

"A  proof,  my  virtuous  brother,"  said  Frank, 
"first,  of  thy  abstemiousness,  which  has  thus  for- 
gotten what  wine  tastes  like;  and  next,  of  thy 
pure  and  heroical  affection,  by  which  thy  carnal 
senses  being  exalted  to  a  higher  and  supra-lunar 
sphere,  like  those  Platonical  daemonizomenoi  and 
enthusiazomenoi  (of  whom  Jamblichus  says  that 
they  were  insensible  to  wounds  and  flame,  and 
much  more,  therefore,  to  evil  savors),  doth  make 
even  the  most  nauseous  draught  redolent  of  that 
celestial  fragrance,  which  proceeding,  O  Jack! 
from  thine  own  inward  virtue,  assimilates  by 
sympathy  even  outward  accidents  unto  its  own 
harmony  and  melody;  for  fragrance  is,  as  has 
been  said  well,  the  song  of  flowers,  and  sweetness, 
the  music  of  apples  —  Ahem!  Go  in  peace,  thou 
hast  conquered ! " 

"Put  him  out  of  the  door,  Will,"  said  Amyas, 
"or  he  will  swoon  on  our  hands." 

"Give  him  some  sack,"  said  Frank. 

"Not  a  blessed  drop  of  yours,  sir,"  said  Jack. 
"  I  like  good  wine  as  well  as  any  man  on  earth, 


The  Brotherhood  of  the  Rose    269 

and  see  as  little  of  it;  but  not  a  drop  of  yours, 
sirs,  after  your  frumps  and  flouts  about  hanging- 
on  and  trencher-scraping.  When  I  first  began  to 
love  her,  I  bid  good-bye  to  all  dirty  tricks ;  for  I 
had  some  one  then  for  whom  to  keep  myself 
clean." 

And  so  Jack  was  sent  home,  with  a  pint  of 
good  red  Alicant  wine  in  him  (more,  poor  fellow, 
than  he  had  tasted  at  once  in  his  life  before) ; 
'while  the  rest,  in  high  glee  with  themselves  and 
the  rest  of  the  world,  relighted  the  candles,  had 
a  right  merry  evening,  and  parted  like  good 
friends  and  sensible  gentlemen  of  Devon,  think- 
ing (all  except  Frank)  Jack  Brimblecombe  and 
his  vow  the  merriest  jest  they  had  heard  for  many 
a  day.  After  which  they  all  departed:  Amyas 
and  Gary  to  Winter's  squadron;  Frank  (as  soon 
as  he  could  travel)  to  the  Court  again ;  arid  with 
him  young  Basset,  whose  father  Sir  Arthur,  being 
in  London,  procured  for  him  a  page's  place  in 
Leicester's  household.  Fortescue  and  Chicester 
went  to  their  brothers  in  Dublin;  St.  Leger  to 
his  uncle  the  Marshal  of  Munster;  Coffin  joined 
Champernoun  and  Norris  in  the  Netherlands ;  and 
so  the  Brotherhood  of  the  Rose  was  scattered  far 
and  wide,  and  Mistress  Salterne  was  left  alone 
with  her  looking-glass. 


CHAPTER  IX 

HOW  AMYAS  KEPT  HIS   CHRISTMAS  DAY 

"  Take  aim,  you  noble  musqueteers, 
And  shoot  you  round  about ; 
Stand  to  it,  valiant  pikemen, 
And  we  shall  keep  them  out. 
There  's  not  a  man  of  all  of  us 
A  foot  will  backward  flee ; 
I  '11  be  the  foremost  man  in  fight, 
Says  brave  Lord  Willoughby ! " 

Elizabethan  Ballad. 

IT  was  the  blessed  Christmas  afternoon.  The 
light  was  fading  down;  the  even-song  was 
done;  and  the  good  folks  of  Bideford  were  troop- 
ing home  in  merry  groups,  the  father  with  his 
children,  the  lover  with  his  sweetheart,  to  cakes 
and  ale,  and  flapdragons  and  mummer's  plays, 
and  all  the  happy  sports  of  Christmas  night. 
One  lady  only,  wrapped  close  in  her  black  muffler 
and  followed  by  her  maid,  walked  swiftly,  yet 
sadly,  toward  the  long  causeway  and  bridge  which 
led  to  Northam  town.  Sir  Richard  Grenville 
and  his  wife  caught  her  up  and  stopped  her 
courteously. 

"You  will  come  home  with  us,  Mrs.  Leigh," 
said  Lady  Grenville,  "and  spend  a  pleasant 
Christmas  night  ? " 

Mrs.  Leigh  smiled  sweetly,  and  laying  one 
hand  on  Lady  Grenville's  arm,  pointed  with  the 
other  to  the  westward,  and  said: 


How  Amyas  Kept  Christmas  Day     271 

"I  cannot  well  spend  a  merry  Christmas  night 
while  that  sound  is  in  my  ears." 

The  whole  party  around  looked  in  the  direc- 
tion in  which  she  pointed.  Above  their  heads 
the  soft  blue  sky  was  fading  into  gray,  and  here 
and  there  a  misty  star  peeped  out :  but  to  the 
westward,  where  the  downs  and  woods  of  Raleigh 
closed  in  with  those  of  Abbotsham,  the  blue  was 
webbed  and  turfed  with  delicate  white  flakes; 
iridescent  spots,  marking  the  path  by  which  the 
sun  had  sunk,  showed  all  the  colors  of  the  dying 
dolphin;  and  low  on  the  horizon  lay  a  long  band 
of  grassy  green.  But  what  was  the  sound  which 
troubled  Mrs.  Leigh  ?  None  of  them,  with  their 
merry  hearts,  and  ears  dulled  with  the  din  and 
bustle  of  the  town,  had  heard  it  till  that  moment : 
and  yet  now  —  listen!  It  was  dead  calm.  There 
was  not  a  breath  to  stir  a  blade  of  grass.  And 
yet  the  air  was  full  of  sound,  a  low  deep  roar 
which  hovered  over  down  and  wood,  salt-marsh 
and  river,  like  the  roll  of  a  thousand  wheels,  the 
tramp  of  endless  armies,  or  —  what  it  was  —  the 
thunder  of  a  mighty  surge  upon  the  boulders  of 
the  pebble  ridge. 

"The  ridge  is  noisy  to-night,"  said  Sir  Richard. 
"There  has  been  wind  somewhere." 

"There  is  wind  now,  where  my  boy  is,  God 
help  him ! "  said  Mrs.  Leigh :  and  all  knew  that 
she  spoke  truly.  The  spirit  of  the  Atlantic 
storm  had  sent  forward  the  token  of  his  coming, 
in  the  smooth  ground-swell  which  was  heard  in- 
land, two  miles  away.  To-morrow  the  pebbles, 
which  were  now  rattling  down  with  each  retreat- 
ing wave,  might  be  leaping  to  the  ridge  top,  and 
hurled  like  round-shot  far  ashore  upon  the  marsh 


272  Westward  Ho ! 

by  the  force  of  the  advancing  wave,  fleeing  before 
the  wrath  of  the  western  hurricane. 

"  God  help  my  boy ! "  said  Mrs.  Leigh  again. 

"God  is  as  near  him  by  sea  as  by  land,"  said 
good  Sir  Richard. 

"True,  but  I  am  a  lone  mother;  and  one  that 
has  no  heart  just  now  but  to  go  home  and  pray." 

And  so  Mrs.  Leigh  went  onward  up  the  lane, 
and  spent  all  that  night  in  listening  between  her 
prayers  to  the  thunder  of  the  surge,  till  it  was 
drowned,  long  ere  the  sun  rose,  in  the  thunder  of 
the  storm. 

And  where  is  Amyas  on  this  same  Christmas 
afternoon  ? 

Amyas  is  sitting  bareheaded  in  a  boat's  stern 
in  Smerwick  bay,  with  the  spray  whistling 
through  his  curls,  as  he  shouts  cheerfully  — 

"Pull,  and  with  a  will,  my  merry  men  all,  and 
never  mind  shipping  a  sea.  Cannon  balls  are  a 
cargo  that  don't  spoil  by  taking  salt-water." 

His  mother's  presage  has  been  true  enough. 
Christmas  eve  has  been  the  last  of  the  still,  dark, 
steaming  nights  of  the  early  winter;  and  the 
western  gale  has  been  roaring  for  the  last  twelve 
hours  upon  the  Irish  coast. 

The  short  light  of  the  winter  day  is  fading  fast. 
Behind  him  is  a  leaping  line  of  billows  lashed 
into  mist  by  the  tempest.  Beside  him  green 
foam-fringed  columns  are  rushing  up  the  black 
rocks,  and  falling  again  in  a  thousand  cataracts  of 
snow.  Before  him  is  the  deep  and  sheltered  bay : 
but  it  is  not  far  up  the  bay  that  he  and  his  can 
see;  for  some  four  miles  out  at  sea  begins  a  slop- 
ing roof  of  thick  gray  cloud,  which  stretches  over 
their  heads,  and  up  and  far  away  inland,  cutting 


How  Amyas  Kept  Christmas  Day    273 

the  cliffs  off  at  mid-height,  hiding  all  the  Kerry 
mountains,  and  darkening  the  hollows  of  the  dis- 
tant firths  into  the  blackness  of  night.  And 
underneath  that  awful  roof  of  whirling  mist  the 
storm  is  howling  inland  ever,  sweeping  before  it 
the  great  foam-sponges,  and  the  gray  salt  spray, 
till  all  the  land  is  hazy,  dim,  and  dun.  Let  it 
howl  on !  for  there  is  more  mist  than  ever  salt 
spray  made,  flying  before  that  gale ;  more  thunder 
than  ever  sea-surge  wakened  echoing  among  the 
cliffs  of  Smerwick  bay;  along  those  sand-hills 
flash  in  the  evening  gloom  red  sparks  which  never 
came  from  heaven ;  for  that  fort,  now  christened 
by  the  invaders  the  Fort  Del  Oro,  where  flaunts 
the  hated  golden  flag  of  Spain,  holds  San  Josepho 
and  eight  hundred  of  the  foe;  and  but  three 
nights  ago,  Amyas  and  Yeo,  and  the  rest  of 
Winter's  shrewdest  hands,  slung  four  culverins 
out  of  the  Admiral's  main  deck,  and  floated  them 
ashore,  and  dragged  them  up  to  the  battery  among 
the  sand-hills ;  and  now  it  shall  be  seen  whether 
Spanish  and  Italian  condottieri  can  hold  their 
own  on  British  ground  against  the  men  of  Devon. 
Small  blame  to  Amyas  if  he  was  thinking,  not 
of  his  lonely  mother  at  Burrough  Court,  but  of 
those  quick  bright  flashes  on  sand-hill  and  on 
fort,  where  Salvation  Yeo  was  hurling  the  eigh- 
teen-pound shot  with  deadly  aim,  and  watching 
with  a  cool  and  bitter  smile  of  triumph  the  flying 
of  the  sand,  and  the  crashing  of  the  gabions. 
Amyas  and  his  party  had  been  on  board,  at  the 
risk  of  their  lives,  for  a  fresh  supply  of  shot ;  for 
Winter's  battery  was  out  of  ball,  and  had  been 
firing  stones  for  the  last  four  hours,  in  default  of 
better  missiles.  They  ran  the  boat  on  shore 


274  Westward  Ho! 

through  the  surf,  where  a  cove  in  the  shore  made 
landing  possible,  and  almost  careless  whether  she 
stove  or  not,  scrambled  over  the  sand-hills  with 
each  man  his  brace  of  shot  slung  across  his 
shoulder;  and  Amyas,  leaping  into  the  trenches, 
shouted  cheerfully  to  Salvation  Yeo  — 

"More  food  for  the  bull-dogs,  Gunner,  and 
plums  for  the  Spaniards'  Christmas  pudding!" 

"Don't  speak  to  a  man  at  his  business,  Master 
Amyas.  Five  mortal  times  have  I  missed ;  but  I 
will  have  that  accursed  Popish  rag  down,  as  I  'm 
a  sinner." 

"Down  with  it,  then;  nobody  wants  you  to 
shoot  crooked.  Take  good  iron  to  it,  and  not 
footy  paving-stones." 

"I  believe,  sir,  that  the  foul  fiend  is  there,  a 
turning  of  my  shot  aside,  I  do.  I  thought  I  saw 
him  once:  but,  thank  Heaven,  here's  ball  again. 
Ah,  sir,  if  one  could  but  cast  a  silver  one !  Now, 
stand  by,  men !  " 

And  once  again  Yeo's  eighteen-pounder  roared, 
and  away.  And,  oh  glory !  the  great  yellow  flag 
of  Spain,  which  streamed  in  the  gale,  lifted  clean 
into  the  air,  flagstaff  and  all,  and  then  pitched 
wildly  down  head -foremost,  far  to  leeward. 

A  hurrah  from  the  sailors,  answered  by  the 
soldiers  of  the  opposite  camp,  shook  the  very 
cloud  above  them :  but  ere  its  echoes  had  died 
away,  a  tall  officer  leapt  upon  the  parapet  of  the 
fort,  with  the  fallen  flag  in  his  hand,  and  rearing 
it  as  well  as  he  could  upon  his  lance  point,  held 
it  firmly  against  the  gale,  while  the  fallen  flag- 
staff was  raised  again  within. 

In  a  moment  a  dozen  long  bows  were  bent  at 
the  daring  foeman:  but  Amyas  behind  shouted  — 


How  Amyas  Kept  Christmas  Day    275 

"  Shame,  lads !  Stop  and  let  the  gallant  gentle- 
man have  due  courtesy ! " 

So  they  stopped,  while  Amyas,  springing  on 
the  rampart  of  the  battery,  took  off  his  hat,  and 
bowed  to  the  flag-holder,  who,  as  soon  as  relieved 
of  his  charge,  returned  the  bow  courteously,  and 
descended. 

It  was  by  this  time  all  but  dark,  and  the  firing 
began  to  slacken  on  all  sides ;  Salvation  and  his 
brother  gunners,  having  covered  up  their  slaugh- 
tering tackle  with  tarpaulings,  retired  for  the 
night,  leaving  Amyas,  who  had  volunteered  to 
take  the  watch  till  midnight;  and  the  rest  of  the 
force  having  got  their  scanty  supper  of  biscuit 
(for  provisions  were  running  very  short)  lay 
down  under  arms  among  the  sand-hills,  and 
grumbled  themselves  to  sleep. 

He  had  paced  up  and  down  in  the  gusty  dark- 
ness for  some  hour  or  more,  exchanging  a  passing 
word  now  and  then  with  the  sentinel,  when  two 
men  entered  the  battery,  chatting  busily  together. 
One  was  in  complete  armor;  the  other  wrapped 
in  the  plain  short  cloak  of  a  man  of  pens  and 
peace :  but  the  talk  of  both  was  neither  of  sieges 
nor  of  sallies,  catapult,  bombard,  nor  culverin, 
but  simply  of  English  hexameters. 

And  fancy  not,  gentle  reader,  that  the  two 
were  therein  fiddling  while  Rome  was  burning; 
for  the  commonweal  of  poetry  and  letters,  in  that 
same  critical  year  1580,  was  in  far  greater  danger 
from  those  same  hexameters  than  the  common 
woe  of  Ireland  (as  Raleigh  called  it)  was  from 
the  Spaniards. 

Imitating  the  classic  metres,  "versifying,"  as 
it  was  called  in  contradistinction  to  rhyming, 


276  Westward  Ho! 

was  becoming  fast  the  fashion  among  the  more 
learned.  Stonyhurst  and  others  had  tried  their 
hands  at  hexameter  translations  from  the  Latin 
and  Greek  epics,  which  seem  to  have  been  dog- 
gerel enough ;  and  ever  and  anon  some  youthful 
wit  broke  out  in  iambics,  sapphics,  elegiacs,  and 
what  not,  to  the  great  detriment  of  the  queen's 
English  and  her  subjects'  ears. 

I  know  not  whether  Mr.  William  Webbe  had 
yet  given  to  the  world  any  fragments  of  his  pre- 
cious hints  for  the  "  Reformation  of  English  poe- 
try," to  the  tune  of  his  own  "  Tityrus,  happily  thou 
liest  tumbling  under  a  beech-tree :"  but  the  Cam- 
bridge Malvolio,  Gabriel  Harvey,  had  succeeded 
in  arguing  Spenser,  Dyer,  Sidney,  and  probably 
Sidney's  sister,  and  the  whole  clique  of  beaux- 
esprits  round  them,  into  following  his  model  of 

"  What  might  I  call  this  tree  ?    A  laurel  ?     O  bonny  laurel ! 
Needes  to  thy  bowes  will  I  bowe  this  knee,  and  vail  my 
bonetto ; " 

after  snubbing  the  first  book  of  "that  Elvish 
Queene,"  which  was  then  in  manuscript,  as  a 
base  declension  from  the  classical  to  the  romantic 
school. 

And  now  Spenser  (perhaps  in  mere  melancholy 
wilfulness  and  want  of  purpose,  for  he  had  just 
been  jilted  by  a  fair  maid  of  Kent)  was  wasting 
his  mighty  genius  upon  doggerel  which  he  fancied 
antique;  and  some  piratical  publisher  (bitter 
Tom  Nash  swears,  and  with  likelihood,  that 
Harvey  did  it  himself)  had  just  given  to  the 
world, — "Three  proper  wittie  and  familiar 
Letters,  lately  past  between  two  University  men, 
touching  the  Earthquake  in  April  last,  and  our 


How  Amy  as  Kept  Christmas  Day    277 

English  reformed  Versifying,"  which  had  set  all 
town  wits  a-buzzing  like  a  swarm  of  flies,  being 
none  other  than  a  correspondence  between  Spenser 
and  Harvey,  which  was  to  prove  to  the  world  for- 
ever the  correctness  and  melody  of  such  lines  as, 

"  For  like  magnificoes,  not  a  beck  but  glorious  in  show, 
In  deede  most  frivolous,  not  a  looke  but  Tuscanish  always." 

Let  them  pass  —  Alma  Mater  has  seen  as  bad 
hexameters  since.  But  then  the  matter  was 
serious.  There  is  a  story  (I  know  not  how  true) 
that  Spenser  was  half  bullied  into  re-writing  the 
"  Faerie  Queene  "  in  hexameters,  had  not  Raleigh, 
a  true  romanticist,  "whose  vein  for  ditty  or 
amorous  ode  was  most  lofty,  insolent,  and  pas- 
sionate," persuaded  him  to  follow  his  better 
genius.  The  great  dramatists  had  not  yet  arisen, 
to  form  completely  that  truly  English  school,  of 
which  Spenser,  unconscious  of  his  own  vast 
powers,  was  laying  the  foundation.  And,  indeed, 
it  was  not  till  Daniel,  twenty  years  after,  in  his 
admirable  apology  for  rhyme,  had  smashed  Mr. 
Campian  and  his  "  eight  several  kinds  of  classical 
numbers, "  that  the  matter  was  finally  settled,  and 
the  English  tongue  left  to  go  the  road  on  which 
Heaven  had  started  it.  So  that  we  may  excuse 
Raleigh's  answering  somewhat  waspish  to  some 
quotation  of  Spenser's  from  the  three  letters  of 
"Immeritoand  G.  H." 

"Tut,  tut,  Colin  Clout,  much  learning  has 
made  thee  mad.  A  good  old  fishwives'  ballad 
jingle  is  worth  all  your  sapphics  and  trimeters, 
and  'riff-raff  thurlery  bouncing.'  Hey?  have  I 
you  there,  old  lad?  Do  you  mind  that  precious 
verse  ? " 


278  Westward  Ho ! 

"  But,  dear  Wat,  Homer  and  Virgil " 

"  But,  dear  Ned,  Petrarch  and  Ovid " 

"  But,  Wat,  what  have  we  that  we  do  not  owe 
to  the  ancients  ?  " 

"Ancients,  quotha?  Why,  the  legend  of  King 
Arthur,  and  Chevy  Chase  too,  of  which  even  your 
fellow-sinner  Sidney  cannot  deny  that  every  time 
he  hears  it  even  from  a  blind  fiddler  it  stirs  his 
heart  like  a  trumpet-blast.  Speak  well  of  the 
bridge  that  carries  you  over,  man !  Did  you  find 
your  Redcross  Knight  in  Virgil,  or  such  a  dame 
as  Una  in  old  Ovid  ?  No  more  than  you  did  your 
Pater  and  Credo,  you  renegado  baptized  heathen, 
you ! " 

"  Yet,  surely,  our  younger  and  more  barbarous 
taste  must  bow  before  divine  antiquity,  and 
imitate  afar " 

"As  dottrels  do  fowlers.  If  Homer  was  blind, 
lad,  why  dost  not  poke  out  thine  eye  ?  Ay,  this 
hexameter  is  of  an  ancient  house,  truly,  Ned 
Spenser,  and  so  is  many  a  rogue :  but  he  cannot 
make  way  on  our  rough  English  roads.  He  goes 
hopping  and  twitching  in  our  language  like  a 
three-legged  terrier  over  a  pebble-bank,  tumble 
and  up  again,  rattle  and  crash." 

"  Nay,  hear,  now  — 

4  See  ye  the  blindfolded  pretty  god  that  feathered  archer, 
Of  lovers'  miseries  which  maketh  his  bloody  game  ? '  * 

True,   the    accent   gapes   in   places,    as  I   have 

often  confessed  to  Harvey,  but " 

"  Harvey  be  hanged  for  a  pedant,  and  the  whole 
crew  of  versifiers,  from  Lord  Dorset  (but  he,  poor 

1  Strange  as  it  may  seem,  this  distich  is  Spenser's  own ;  and 
the  other  hexameters  are  all  authentic. 


How  Amyas  Kept  Christmas  Day    279 

man,  has  been  past  hanging  some  time  since)  to 
yourself !  Why  delude  you  into  playing  Procrustes 
as  he  does  with  the  queen's  English,  racking  one 
word  till  its  joints  be  pulled  asunder,  and  squeez- 
ing the  next  all  a-heap  as  the  Inquisitors  do 
heretics  in  their  banco,  cavaf  Out  upon  him  and 
you,  and  Sidney,  and  the  whole  kin.  You  have 
not  made  a  verse  among  you,  and  never  will, 
which  is  not  as  lame  a  gosling  as  Harvey's 
own  — 

'  Oh  thou  weathercocke,  that  stands  on  the  top  of  Allhallows, 
Come  thy  ways  down,  if  thou  dar'st  for  thy  crown,  and  take 
the  wall  on  us.' 

Hark,  now !  There  is  our  young  giant  comfort- 
ing his  soul  with  a  ballad.  You  will  hear  rhyme 
and  reason  together  here,  now.  He  will  not 
miscall  'blind-folded,'  'blind-fold-ed,  I  warrant; 
or  make  an  '  of  '  and  a  '  which  '  and  a  '  his  '  carry 
a  whole  verse  on  their  wretched  little  backs. " 

And  as  he  spoke,  Amyas,  who  had  been  grum- 
bling to  himself  some  Christmas  carol,  broke  out 
full-mouthed :  — 

"  As  Joseph  was  a-walking 
He  heard  an  angel  sing  — 
1  This  night  shall  be  the  birth  night 
Of  Christ,  our  heavenly  King. 

His  birth  bed  shall  be  neither 
In  housen  nor  in  hall, 
Nor  in  the  place  of  paradise, 
But  in  the  oxen's  stall. 

He  neither  shall  be  rocked 
In  silver  nor  in  gold, 
But  in  the  wooden  manger 
That  lieth  on  the  mould. 


280  Westward  Ho! 

He  neither  shall  be  washen 
With  white  wine  nor  with  red, 
But  with  the  fair  spring  water 
That  on  you  shall  be  shed. 

He  neither  shall  be  clothed 
In  purple  nor  in  pall, 
But  in  the  fair  white  linen 
That  usen  babies  all.' 

As  Joseph  was  a-walking 
Thus  did  the  angel  sing, 
And  Mary's  Son  at  midnight 
Was  born  to  be  our  King. 

Then  be  you  glad,  good  people, 
At  this  time  of  the  year ; 
And  light  you  up  your  candles, 
For  His  star  it  shineth  clear." 

"There,  Edmunde  Classicaster,"  said  Raleigh, 
"does  not  that  simple  strain  go  nearer  to  the 
heart  of  him  who  wrote  '  The  Shepherd's  Calen- 
dar,' than  all  artificial  and  outlandish 

« Wote  ye  why  his  mother  with  a  veil  hath  covered  his  face  ? ' 

Why  dost  not  answer,  man  ? " 

But  Spenser  was  silent  awhile,  and  then,  — 
"  Because  I  was  thinking  rather  of  the  rhymer 
than  the  rhyme.  Good  heaven!  how  that  brave 
lad  shames  me,  singing  here  the  hymns  which  his 
mother  taught  him,  before  the  very  muzzles  of 
Spanish  guns;  instead  of  bewailing  unmanly,  as 
I  have  done,  the  love  which  he  held,  I  doubt  not, 
as  dear  as  I  did  even  my  Rosalind.  This  is  his 
welcome  to  the  winter's  storm;  while  I,  who 
dream,  forsooth,  of  heavenly  inspiration,  can  but 
see  therein  an  image  of  mine  own  cowardly 
despair. 


How  Amyas  Kept  Christmas  Day    281 

'  Thou  barren  ground,  whom  winter's  wrath  has  wasted, 
Art  made  a  mirror  to  behold  my  plight.' 1 

Pah!  away   with   frosts,    icicles,    and   tears,   and 
sighs " 

"And  with  hexameters  and  trimeters  too,  I 
hope,"  interrupted  Raleigh:  "and  all  the  trick- 
eries of  self -pleasing  sorrow." 

" I  will  set  my  heart  to  higher  work  than 

barking  at  the  hand  which  chastens  me." 

"  Wilt  put  the  lad  into  the  '  Faerie  Queene, ' 
then,  by  my  side?  He  deserves  as  good  a  place 
there,  believe  me,  as  ever  a  Guyon,  or  even  as 
Lord  Grey  your  Arthegall.  Let  us  hail  him. 
Hallo !  young  chanticleer  of  Devon !  Art  not 
afraid  of  a  chance  shot,  that  thou  crowest  so 
lustily  upon  thine  own  mixen?" 

"Cocks  crow  all  night  long  at  Christmas, 
Captain  Raleigh,  and  so  do  I,"  said  Amyas's 
cheerful  voice;  "but  who's  there  with  you?" 

"  A  penitent  pupil  of  yours  —  Mr.  Secretary 
Spenser." 

"Pupil  of  mine?"  said  Amyas.  "I  wish  he'd 
teach  me  a  little  of  his  art;  I  could  fill  up  my 
time  here  with  making  verses." 

"  And  who  would  be  your  theme,  fair  sir  ?  "  said 
Spenser. 

"No  '  who  '  at  all.  I  don't  want  to  make  son- 
nets to  blue  eyes,  nor  black  either :  but  if  I  could 
put  down  some  of  the  things  I  saw  in  the  Spice 
Islands " 

"Ah,"  said  Raleigh,  "he  would  beat  you  out 
of  Parnassus,  Mr.  Secretary.  Remember,  you 
may  write  about  Fairyland,  but  he  has  seen  it. " 

»  "The  Shepherd's  Calendar." 
Vol.  8—13 


282  Westward  Ho  ! 

"And  so  have  others,"  said  Spenser;  "it  is 
not  so  far  off  from  any  one  of  us.  Wherever  is 
love  and  loyalty,  great  purposes,  and  lofty  souls, 
even  though  in  a  hovel  or  a  mine,  there  is  Fairy- 
land." 

"Then  Fairyland  should  be  here,  friend;  for 
you  represent  love,  and  Leigh  loyalty;  while,  as 
for  great  purposes  and  lofty  souls,  who  so  fit  to 
stand  for  them  as  I,  being  (unless  my  enemies 
and  my  conscience  are  liars  both)  as  ambitious 
and  as  proud  as  Lucifer's  own  self?" 

"Ah,  Walter,  Walter,  why  wilt  always  slander 
thyself  thus?" 

"  Slander  ?  Tut.  —  I  do  but  give  the  world  a 
fair  challenge,  and  tell  it,  'There  —  you  know 
the  worst  of  me:  come  on  and  try  a  fall,  for 
either  you  or  I  must  down.'  Slander?  Ask 
Leigh  here,  who  has  but  known  me  a  fortnight, 
whether  I  am  not  as  vain  as  a  peacock,  as  selfish 
as  a  fox,  as  imperious  as  a  bona  roba,  and  ready 
to  make  a  cat's  paw  of  him  or  any  man,  if  there 
be  a  chestnut  in  the  fire :  and  yet  the  poor  fool 
cannot  help  loving  me,  and  running  of  my  errands, 
and  taking  all  my  schemes  and  my  dreams  for 
gospel;  and  verily  believes  now,  I  think,  that  I 
shall  be  the  man  in  the  moon  some  day,  and  he 
my  big  dog. " 

"Well,"  said  Amyas,  half  apologetically,  "if 
you  are  the  cleverest  man  in  the  world  what  harm 
in  my  thinking  so  ? " 

"Hearken  to  him,  Edmund!  He  will  know 
better  when  he  has  outgrown  this  same  callow 
trick  of  honesty,  and  learnt  of  the  great  goddess 
Detraction  how  to  show  himself  wiser  than  the 
wise,  by  pointing  out  to  the  world  the  fool's 


How  Amyas  Kept  Christmas  Day    283 

motley  which  peeps  through  the  rents  in  the 
philosopher's  cloak.  Go  to,  lad!  slander  thy 
equals,  envy  thy  betters,  pray  for  an  eye  which 
sees  spots  in  every  sun,  and  for  a  vulture's  nose 
to  scent  carrion  in  every  rose-bed.  If  thy  friend 
win  a  battle,  show  that  he  has  needlessly  thrown 
away  his  men;  if  he  lose  one,  hint  that  he  sold 
it;  if  he  rise  to  a  place,  argue  favor;  if  he  fall 
from  one,  argue  divine  justice.  Believe  nothing, 
hope  nothing,  but  endure  all  things,  even  to 
kicking,  if  aught  may  be  got  thereby;  so  shalt 
thou  be  clothed  in  purple  and  fine  linen,  and  sit 
in  kings'  palaces,  and  fare  sumptuously  every  day." 

"And  wake  with  Dives  in  the  torment,"  said 
Amyas.  "Thank  you  for  nothing,  captain." 

"Go  to,  Misanthropes,"  said  Spenser.  "Thou 
hast  not  yet  tasted  the  sweets  of  this  world's 
comfits,  and  thou  railest  at  them  ? " 

"  The  grapes  are  sour,  lad. " 

"And  will  be  to  the  end,"  said  Amyas,  "if 
they  come  off  such  a  devil's  tree  as  that.  I  really 
think  you  are  out  of  your  mind,  Captain  Raleigh, 
at  times." 

"  I  wish  I  were ;  for  it  is  a  troublesome,  hungry, 
windy  mind  as  man  ever  was  cursed  withal.  But 
come  in,  lad.  We  were  sent  from  the  lord  deputy 
to  bid  thee  to  supper.  There  is  a  dainty  lump  of 
dead  horse  waiting  for  thee." 

"Send  me  some  out,  then,"  said  matter-of-fact 
Amyas.  "And  tell  his  lordship  that,  with  his 
good  leave,  I  don't  stir  from  here  till  morning, 
if  I  can  keep  awake.  There  is  a  stir  in  the  fort, 
and  I  expect  them  out  on  us." 

"  Tut,  man  !  their  hearts  are  broken.  We  know 
it  by  their  deserters." 


284  Westward  Ho! 

"  Seeing  's  believing.  I  never  trust  runaway 
rogues.  If  they  are  false  to  their  masters,  they  '11 
be  false  to  us. " 

"Well,  go  thy  ways,  old  honesty;  and  Mr. 
Secretary  shall  give  you  a  book  to  yourself  in 
the  '  Faerie  Queene  '  — '  Sir  Monoculus  or  the 
Legend  of  Common  Sense, '  eh,  Edmund  ? " 

"  Monoculus  ? " 

"Ay,  Single-eye,  my  prince  of  word-coiners  — 
won't  that  fit?  —  And  give  him  the  Cyclops  head 
for  a  device.  Heigh-ho !  They  may  laugh  that 
win.  I  am  sick  of  this  Irish  work;  were  it  not 
for  the  chance  of  advancement  I  'd  sooner  be 
driving  a  team  of  red  Devons  on  Dartside;  and 
now  I  am  angry  with  the  dear  lad  because  he  is 
not  sick  of  it  too.  What  a  plague  business  has 
he  to  be  paddling  up  and  down,  contentedly  doing 
his  duty,  like  any  city  watchman?  It  is  an 
insult  to  the  mighty  aspirations  of  our  nobler 
hearts,  —  eh,  my  would-be  Ariosto  ? " 

"  Ah,  Raleigh  !  you  can  afford  to  confess  your- 
self less  than  some,  for  you  are  greater  than  all. 
Go  on  and  conquer,  noble  heart !  But  as  for  me, 
I  sow  the  wind,  and  I  suppose  I  shall  reap  the 
whirlwind." 

"Your  harvest  seems  come  already;  what  a 
blast  that  was!  Hold  on  by  me,  Colin  Clout, 
and  I'll  hold  on  by  thee.  So!  Don't  tread  on 
that  pikeman's  stomach,  lest  he  take  thee  for  a 
marauding  Don,  and  with  sudden  dagger  slit 
Colin's  pipe,  and  Colin's  weasand  too." 

And  the  two  stumbled  away  into  the  darkness, 
leaving  Amyas  to  stride  up  and  down  as  before, 
puzzling  his  brains  over  Raleigh's  wild  words 
and  Spenser's  melancholy,  till  he  came  to  the 


How  Amyas  Kept  Christmas  Day    285 

conclusion  that  there  was  some  mysterious  con- 
nection between  cleverness  and  unhappiness,  and 
thanking  his  stars  that  he  was  neither  "scholar, 
courtier,  nor  poet,  said  grace  over  his  lump  of 
horseflesh  when  it  arrived,  devoured  it  as  if  it  had 
been  venison,  and  then  returned  to  his  pacing  up 
and  down;  but  this  time  in  silence,  for  the  night 
was  drawing  on,  and  there  was  no  need  to  tell 
the  Spaniards  that  any  one  was  awake  and 
watching. 

So  he  began  to  think  about  his  mother,  and 
how  she  might  be  spending  her  Christmas;  and 
then  about  Frank,  and  wondered  at  what  grand 
Court  festival  he  was  assisting,  amid  bright  lights 
and  sweet  music  and  gay  ladies,  and  how  he  was 
dressed,  and  whether  he  thought  of  his  brother 
there  far  away  on  the  dark  Atlantic  shore;  and 
then  he  said  his  prayers  and  his  creed;  and  then 
he  tried  not  to  think  of  Rose  Salterne,  and  of 
course  thought  about  her  all  the  more.  So  on 
passed  the  dull  hours,  till  it  might  be  past  eleven 
o'clock,  and  all  lights  were  out  in  the  battery 
and  the  shipping,  and  there  was  no  sound  of  liv- 
ing thing  but  the  monotonous  tramp  of  the  two 
sentinels  beside  him,  and  now  and  then  a  grunt 
from  the  party  who  slept  under  arms  some  twenty 
yards  to  the  rear. 

So  he  paced  to  and  fro,  looking  carefully  out 
now  and  then  over  the  strip  of  sand-hill  which 
lay  between  him  and  the  fort;  but  all  was  blank 
and  black,  and  moreover  it  began  to  rain  furiously. 
Suddenly  he  seemed  to  hear  a  rustle  among  the 
harsh  sand-grass.  True,  the  wind  was  whistling 
through  it  loudly  enough,  but  that  sound  was  not 
altogether  like  the  wind.  Then  a  soft  sliding 


286  Westward  Ho ! 

noise;  something  had  slipped  down  a  bank,  and 
brought  the  sand  down  after  it.  Amyas  stopped, 
crouched  down  beside  a  gun,  and  laid  his  ear  to 
the  rampart,  whereby  he  heard  clearly,  as  he 
thought,  the  noise  of  approaching  feet;  whether 
rabbits  or  Christians,  he  knew  not,  but  he 
shrewdly  guessed  the  latter. 

Now  Amyas  was  of  a  sober  and  business-like 
turn,  at  least  when  he  was  not  in  a  passion ;  and 
thinking  within  himself  that  if  he  made  any 
noise,  the  enemy  (whether  four  or  two-legged) 
would  retire,  and  all  the  sport  be  lost,  he  did  not 
call  to  the  two  sentries,  who  were  at  the  opposite 
ends  of  the  battery;  neither  did  he  think  it  worth 
while  to  rouse  the  sleeping  company,  lest  his  ears 
should  have  deceived  him,  and  the  whole  camp 
turn  out  to  repulse  the  attack  of  a  buck  rabbit. 

So  he  crouched  lower  and  lower  beside .  the 
culverin,  and  was  rewarded  in  a  minute  or  two  by 
hearing  something  gently  deposited  against  the 
mouth  of  the  embrasure,  which,  by  the  noise, 
should  be  a  piece  of  timber. 

"So  far,  so  good,"  said  he  to  himself;  "when 
the  scaling  ladder  is  up,  the  soldier  follows,  I 
suppose.  I  can  only  humbly  thank  them  for 
giving  my  embrasure  the  preference.  There  he 
comes!  I  hear  his  feet  scuffling." 

He  could  hear  plainly  enough  some  one  work- 
ing himself  into  the  mouth  of  the  embrasure:  but 
the  plague  was,  that  it  was  so  dark  that  he  could 
not  see  his  hand  between  him  and  the  sky,  much 
less  his  foe  at  two  yards  off.  However,  he  made 
a  pretty  fair  guess  as  to  the  whereabouts,  and, 
rising  softly,  discharged  such  a  blow  downwards 
as  would  have  split  a  yule  log.  A  volley  of  sparks 


How  Amyas  Kept  Christmas  Day    287 

flew  up  from  the  hapless  Spaniard's  armor,  and  a 
grunt  issued  from  within  it,  which  proved  that, 
whether  he  was  killed  or  not,  the  blow  had  not 
improved  his  respiration. 

Amyas  felt  for  his  head,  seized  it,  dragged 
him  in  over  the  gun,  sprang  into  the  embrasure 
on  his  knees,  felt  for  the  top  of  the  ladder,  found 
it,  hove  it  clean  off  and  out,  with  four  or  five 
men  on  it,  and  then  of  course  tumbled  after  it  ten 
feet  into  the  sand,  roaring  like  a  town  bull  to  her 
majesty's  liege  subjects  in  general. 

Sailor-fashion,  he  had  no  armor  on  but  a  light 
morion  and  a  cuirass,  so  he  was  not  too  much 
encumbered  to  prevent  his  springing  to  his  legs 
instantly,  and  setting  to  work,  cutting  and  foin- 
ing  right  and  left  at  every  sound,  for  sight  there 
was  none. 

Battles  (as  soldiers  know,  and  newspaper  editors 
do  not)  are  usually  fought,  not  as  they  ought  to 
be  fought,  but  as  they  can  be  fought ;  and  while 
the  literary  man  is  laying  down  the  law  at  his 
desk  as  to  how  many  troops  should  be  moved 
here,  and  what  rivers  should  be  crossed  there, 
and  where  the  cavalry  should  have  been  brought 
up,  and  when  the  flank  should  have  been  turned, 
the  wretched  man  who  has  to  do  the  work  finds 
the  matter  settled  for  him  by  pestilence,  want  of 
shoes,  empty  stomachs,  bad  roads,  heavy  rains, 
hot  suns,  and  a  thousand  other  stern  warriors  who 
never  shpw  on  paper. 

So  with  this  skirmish;  "according  to  Cocker," 
it  ought  to  have  been  a  very  pretty  one;  for 
Hercules  of  Pisa,  who  planned  the  sortie,  had 
arranged  it  all  (being  a  very  sans-appel  in  all 
military  science)  upon  the  best  Italian  precedents, 


288  Westward  Ho! 

and  had  brought  against  this  very  hapless  battery 
a  column  of  a  hundred  to  attack  directly  in  front, 
a  company  of  fifty  to  turn  the  right  flank,  and  a 
company  of  fifty  to  turn  the  left  flank,  with  regu- 
lations, orders,  passwords,  countersigns,  and  what 
not ;  so  that  if  every  man  had  had  his  rights  (as 
seldom  happens),  Don  Guzman  Maria  Magdalena 
de  Soto,  who  commanded  the  sortie,  ought  to 
have  taken  the  work  out  of  hand,  and  annihilated 
all  therein.  But  alas !  here  stern  fate  interfered. 
They  had  chosen  a  dark  night,  as  was  politic; 
they  had  waited  till  the  moon  was  up,  lest  it 
should  be  too  dark,  as  was  politic  likewise :  but, 
just  as  they  had  started,  on  came  a  heavy  squall 
of  rain,  through  which  seven  moons  would  have 
given  no  light,  and  which  washed  out  the  plans 
of  Hercules  of  Pisa  as  if  they  had  been  written 
on  a  schoolboy's  slate.  The  company  who  were 
to  turn  the  left  flank  walked  manfully  down  into 
the  sea,  and  never  found  out  where  they  were 
going  till  they  were  knee-deep  in  water.  The 
company  who  were  to  turn  the  right  flank,  be- 
wildered by  the  utter  darkness,  turned  their  own 
flank  so  often,  that  tired  of  falling  into  rabbit- 
burrows  and  filling  their  mouths  with  sand,  they 
halted  and  prayed  to  all  the  saints  for  a  compass 
and  lantern;  while  the  centre  body,  who  held 
straight  on  by  a  trackway  to  within  fifty  yards  of 
the  battery,  so  miscalculated  that  short  distance, 
that  while  they  thought  the  ditch  two  pikes' 
length  off,  they  fell  into  it  one  over  the  other, 
and  of  six  scaling  ladders,  the  only  one  which 
could  be  found  was  the  very  one  which  Amyas 
threw  down  again.  After  which  the  clouds  broke, 
the  wind  shifted,  and  the  moon  shone  out  merrily. 


How  Amyas  Kept  Christmas  Day    289 

And  so  was  the  deep  policy  of  Hercules  of  Pisa, 
on  which  hung  the  fate  of  Ireland  and  the  Papacy, 
decided  by  a  ten  minutes'  squall. 

But  where  is  Amyas  ? 

In  the  ditch,  aware  that  the  enemy  is  tumbling 
into  it,  but  unable  to  find  them ;  while  the  com- 
pany above,  finding  it  much  too  dark  to  attempt  a 
counter  sortie,  have  opened  a  smart  fire  of  mus- 
ketry and  arrows  on  things  in  general,  whereat 
the  Spaniards  are  swearing  like  Spaniards  (I  need 
say  no  more),  and  the  Italians  spitting  like 
venomous  cats ;  while  Amyas,  not  wishing  to  be 
riddled  by  friendly  balls,  has  got  his  back  against 
the  foot  of  the  rampart,  and  waits  on  Providence. 

Suddenly  the  moon  clears ;  and  with  one  more 
fierce  volley,  the  English  sailors,  seeing  the 
confusion,  leap  down  from  the  embrasures,  and 
to  it  pell-mell.  Whether  this  also  was  "accord- 
ing to  Cocker,"  I  know  not:  but  the  sailor,  then 
as  now,  is  not  susceptible  of  highly-finished 
drill. 

Amyas  is  now  in  his  element,  and  so  are  the 
brave  fellows  at  his  heels;  and  there  are  ten 
breathless,  furious  minutes  among  the  sand-hills; 
and  then  the  trumpets  blow  a  recall,  and  the 
sailors  drop  back  again  by  twos  and  threes,  and 
are  helped  up  into  the  embrasures  over  many  a 
dead  and  dying  foe;  while  the  guns  of  Fort  del 
Oro  open  on  them,  and  blaze  away  for  half  an 
hour  without  reply;  and  then  all  is  still  once 
more.  And  in  the  meanwhile,  the  sortie  against 
the  deputy's  camp  has  fared  no  better,  and  the 
victory  of  the  night  remains  with  the  English. 

Twenty  minutes  after,  Winter  and  the  captains 
who  were  on  shore  were  drying  themselves  round 


290  Westward  Ho ! 

a  peat -fire   on   the  beach,    and  talking  over  the 
skirmish,  when  Will  Gary  asked  — 

"Where  is  Leigh?  who  has  seen  him?  I  am 
sadly  afraid  he  has  gone  too  far,  and  been  slain." 

"  Slain  ?  Never  less,  gentlemen ! "  replied  the 
voice  of  the  very  person  in  question,  as  he  stalked 
out  of  the  darkness  into  the  glare  of  the  fire,  and 
shot  down  from  his  shoulders  into  the  midst  of 
the  ring,  as  he  might  a  sack  of  corn,  a  huge  dark 
body,  which  was  gradually  seen  to  be  a  man  in 
rich  armor;  who  being  so  shot  down,  lay  quietly 
where  he  was  dropped,  with  his  feet  (luckily  for 
him  mailed)  in  the  fire. 

"  I  say,"  quoth  Amyas,  "  some  of  you  had  better 
take  him  up,  if  he  is  to  be  of  any  use.  Unlace 
his  helm,  Will  Gary." 

"Pull  his  feet  out  of  the  embers;  I  dare  say 
he  would  have  been  glad  enough  to  put  us  to  the 
scarpines;  but  that's  no  reason  we  should  put 
him  to  them." 

As  has  been  hinted,  there  was  no  love  lost 
between  Admiral  Winter  and  Amyas;  and  Amyas 
might  certainly  have  reported  himself  in  a  more 
ceremonious  manner.  So  Winter,  whom  Amyas 
either  had  not  seen,  or  had  not  chosen  to  see, 
asked  him  pretty  sharply,  "  What  the  plague  he 
had  to  do  with  bringing  dead  men  into  camp? " 

"If  he's  dead,  it's  not  my  fault.  He  was 
alive  enough  when  I  started  with  him,  and  I  kept, 
him  right  end  uppermost  all  the  way;  and  what 
would  you  have  more,  sir?" 

"  Mr.  Leigh ! "  said  Winter,  "  it  behoves  you 
to  speak  with  somewhat  more  courtesy,  if  not 
respect,  to  captains  who  are  your  elders  and 
commanders. " 


How  Amyas  Kept  Christmas  Day    291 

"Ask  your  pardon,  sir,"  said  the  giant,  as  he 
stood  in  front  of  the  fire  with  the  rain  steaming 
and  smoking  off  his  armor;  "but  I  was  bred  in 
a  school  where  getting  good  service  done  was 
more  esteemed  than  making  fine  speeches." 

"  Whatsoever  school  you  were  trained  in,  sir, " 
said  Winter,  nettled  at  the  hint  about  Drake;  "it 
does  not  seem  to  have  been  one  in  which  you 
learned  to  obey  orders.  Why  did  you  not  come 
in  when  the  recall  was  sounded  ? " 

"Because,"  said  Amyas,  very  coolly,  "in  the 
first  place  I  did  not  hear  it;  and  in  the  next,  in 
my  school  I  was  taught  when  I  had  once  started 
not  to  come  home  empty-handed. " 

This  was  too  pointed;  and  Winter  sprang  up 
with  an  oath  — "  Do  you  mean  to  insult  me, 
sir?" 

"  I  am  sorry,  sir,  that  you  should  take  a  com- 
pliment to  Sir  Francis  Drake  as  an  insult  to 
yourself.  I  brought  in  this  gentleman  because  I 
thought  he  might  give  you  good  information;  if 
he  dies  meanwhile,  the  loss  will  be  yours,  or 
rather  the  queen's." 

"  Help  me,  then, "  said  Gary,  glad  to  create  a 
diversion  in  Amyas' s  favor,  "and  we  will  bring 
him  round;"  while  Raleigh  rose,  and  catching 
Winter's  arm,  drew  him  aside,  and  began  talking 
earnestly. 

"  What  a  murrain  have  you,  Leigh,  to  quarrel 
with  Winter  ? "  asked  two  or  three. 

"  I  say,  my  reverend  fathers  and  dear  children, 
do  get  the  Don's  talking  tackle  free  again,  and 
leave  me  and  the  admiral  to  settle  it  our  own 
way. " 

There  was  more  than  one  captain  sitting  in  the 


292  Westward  Ho ! 

ring,  but  discipline,  and  the  degrees  of  rank, 
were  not  so  severely  defined  as  now ;  and  A  myas, 
as  a  "gentleman  adventurer,"  was,  on  land,  in  a 
position  very  difficult  to  be  settled,  though  at  sea 
he  was  as  liable  to  be  hanged  as  any  other  person 
on  board;  and  on  the  whole  it  was  found  expe- 
dient to  patch  the  matter  up.  So  Captain 
Raleigh  returning,  said  that  though  Admiral 
Winter  had  doubtless  taken  umbrage  at  certain 
words  of  Mr.  Leigh's,  yet  that  he  had  no  doubt 
that  Mr.  Leigh  meant  nothing  thereby  but  what 
was  consistent  with  the  profession  of  a  soldier 
and  a  gentleman,  and  worthy  both  of  himself  and 
of  the  admiral. 

From  which  proposition  Amyas  found  it  impos- 
sible to  dissent;  whereon  Raleigh  went  back, 
and  informed  Winter  that  Leigh  had  freely 
retracted  his  words,  and  fully  wiped  off  any 
imputation  which  Mr.  Winter  might  conceive  to 
have  been  put  upon  him,  and  so  forth.  So  Winter 
returned,  and  Amyas  said  frankly  enough  — 

"Admiral  Winter,  I  hope,  as  a  loyal  soldier, 
that  you  will  understand  thus  far;  that  naught 
which  has  passed  to-night  shall  in  any  way  pre- 
vent you  rinding  me  a  forward  and  obedient  ser- 
vant to  all  your  commands,  be  they  what  they 
mayt  and  a  supporter  of  your  authority  among  the 
men4  and  honor  against  the  foe,  even  with  my 
life.  For  I  should  be  ashamed  if  private  differ- 
ences should  ever  prejudice  by  a  grain  the  public 
weal.** 

This  was  a  great  effort  of  oratory  for  Amyas ; 
and  he  therefore,  in  order  to  be  safe  by  following 
precedent,  tried  to  talk  as  much  as  he  could  like 
Sir  Richard  Grenville.  Of  course  Winter  could 


How  Amyas  Kept  Christmas  Day    293 

answer  nothing  to  it,  in  spite  of  the  plain  hint  of 
private  differences,  but  that  he  should  not  fail  to 
show  himself  a  captain  worthy  of  so  valiant  and 
trusty  a  gentleman ;  whereon  the  whole  party 
turned  their  attention  to  the  captive,  who,  thanks 
to  Will  Gary,  was  by  this  time  sitting  up,  stand- 
ing much  in  need  of  a  handkerchief,  and  looking 
about  him,  having  been  unhelmed,  in  a  confused 
and  doleful  manner. 

"Take  the  gentleman  to  my  tent,"  said  Winter, 
"and  let  the  surgeon  see  to  him.  Mr.  Leigh, 
who  is  he? " 

"An  enemy,  but  whether  Spaniard  or  Italian 
I  know  not;  but  he  seemed  somebody  among 
them,  I  thought  the  captain  of  a  company.  He 
and  I  cut  at  each  other  twice  or  thrice  at  first, 
and  then  lost  each  other;  and  after  that  I  came 
on  him  among  the  sand-hills,  trying  to  rally  his 
men,  and  swearing  like  the  mouth  of  the  pit, 
whereby  I  guess  him  a  Spaniard.  But  his  men 
ran;  so  I  brought  him  in." 

"And  how?"  asked  Raleigh.  "Thou  art 
giving  us  all  the  play  but  the  murders  and  the 
marriages. " 

"Why,  I  bid  him  yield,  and  he  would  not 
Then  I  bid  him  run,  and  he  would  not.  And  it 
was  too  pitch-dark  for  fighting ;  so  I  took  him  by 
the  ears,  and  shock  the  wind  out  of  him,  and  so 
brought  him  in." 

"Shook  the  wind  out  of  him?"  cried  Gary, 
amid  the  roar  of  laughter  which  followed.  "  Dost 
know  thou  hast  nearly  wrung  his  neck  in  two? 
His  vizor  was  full  of  blood." 

"He  should  have  run  or  yielded,  then,"  said 
Amyas;  and  getting  up,  slipped  off  to  find  some 


294  Westward  Ho  ! 

ale,  and  then  to  sleep  comfortably  in  a  dry  burrow 
which  he  scratched  out  of  a  sandbank. 

The  next  morning,  as  Amyas  was  discussing 
a  scanty  breakfast  of  biscuit  (for  provisions  were 
running  very  short  in  camp),  Raleigh  came  up  to 
him. 

"What,  eating?  That's  more  than  I  have 
done  to-day. " 

"  Sit  down,  and  share,  then. " 

"  Nay,  lad,  I  did  not  come  a-begging.  I  have 
set  some  of  my  rogues  to  dig  rabbits;  but  as  I 
live,  young  Colbrand,  you  may  thank  your  stars 
that  you  are  alive  to-day  to  eat.  Poor  young 
Cheek  —  Sir  John  Cheek,  the  grammarian's  son 
—  got  his  quittance  last  night  by  a  Spanish  pike, 
rushing  headlong  on,  just  as  you  did.  But  have 
you  seen  your  prisoner?  " 

"No;  nor  shall,  while  he  is  in  Winter's  tent." 

"Why  not,  then?  What  quarrel  have  you 
against  the  admiral,  friend  Bobadil?  Cannot 
you  let  Francis  Drake  fight  his  own  battles,  with- 
out thrusting  your  head  in  between  them  ? " 

"Well,  that  is  good!  As  if  the  quarrel  was 
not  just  as  much  mine,  and  every  man's  in  the 
ship.  Why,  when  he  left  Drake,  he  left  us  all, 
did  he  not?" 

"  And  what  if  he  did  ?  Let  bygones  be  bygones 
is  the  rule  of  a  Christian,  and  of  a  wise  man  too, 
Amyas.  Here  the  man  is,  at  least,  safe  home, 
in  favor  and  in  power;  and  a  prudent  youth  will 
just  hold  his  tongue,  mumchance,  and  swim  with 
the  stream." 

"But  that's  just  what  makes  me  mad;  to  see 
this  fellow,  after  deserting  us  there  in  unknown 
seas,  win  credit  and  rank  at  home  here  for  being 


How  Amyas  Kept  Christmas  Day    295 

the  first  man  who  ever  sailed  back  through  the 
Straits.  What  had  he  to  do  with  sailing  back  at 
all !  As  well  make  the  fox  a  knight  for  being  the 
first  that  ever  jumped  down  a  jakes  to  escape  the 
hounds.  The  fiercer  the  flight  the  fouler  the  fear, 
say  I." 

"Amyas!  Amyas!  thou  art  a  hard  hitter,  but 
a  soft  politician." 

"  I  am  no  politician,  Captain  Raleigh,  nor  ever 
wish  to  be.  An  honest  man's  my  friend,  and  a 
rogue's  my  foe;  and  I'll  tell  both  as  much,  as 
long  as  I  breathe." 

"And  die  a  poor  saint,"  said  Raleigh,  laugh- 
ing. "But  if  Winter  invites  you  to  his  tent 
himself,  you  won't  refuse  to  come?" 

"Why,  no,  considering  his  years  and  rank; 
but  he  knows  too  well  to  do  that." 

"  He  knows  too  well  not  to  do  it,"  said  Raleigh, 
laughing  as  he  walked  away.  And  verily  in 
half -an -hour  came  an  invitation,  extracted,  of 
course,  from  the  admiral  by  Raleigh's  silver 
tongue,  which  Amyas  could  not  but  obey. 

"We  all  owe  you  thanks  for  last  night's  ser- 
vice, sir,"  said  Winter,  who  had  for  some  good 
reasons  changed  his  tone.  "Your  prisoner  is 
found  to  be  a  gentleman  of  birth  and  experience, 
and  the  leader  of  the  assault  last  night.  He  has 
already  told  us  more  than  we  had  hoped,  for 
which  also  we  are  beholden  to  you;  and,  in- 
deed, my  Lord  Grey  has  been  asking  for  you 
already. " 

"I  have,  young  sir,"  said  a  quiet  and  lofty 
voice;  and  Amyas  saw  limping  from  the  inner 
tent  the  proud  and  stately  figure  of  the  stern 
deputy,  Lord  Grey  of  Wilton,  a  brave  and  wise 


296  Westward  Ho ! 

man,  but  with  a  naturally  harsh  temper,  which 
had  been  soured  still  more  by  the  wound  which 
had  crippled  him,  while  yet  a  boy,  at  the  battle 
of  Leith.  He  owed  that  limp  to  Mary  Queen  of 
Scots ;  and  he  did  not  forget  the  debt. 

"I  have  been  asking  for  you;  having  heard 
from  many,  both  of  your  last  night's  prowess, 
and  of  your  conduct  and  courage  beyond  the 
promise  of  your  years,  displayed  in  that  ever- 
memorable  voyage,  which  may  well  be  ranked 
with  the  deeds  of  the  ancient  Argonauts." 

Amyas  bowed  low;  and  the  lord  deputy  went 
on,  "You  will  needs  wish  to  see  your  prisoner. 
You  will  find  him  such  a  one  as  you  need  not 
be  ashamed  to  have  taken,  and  as  need  not  be 
ashamed  to  have  been  taken  by  you:  but  here 
he  is,  and  will,  I  doubt  not,  answer  as  much  for 
himself.  Know  each  other  better,  gentlemen 
both :  last  night  was  an  ill  one  for  making 
acquaintances.  Don  Guzman  Maria  Magdalena 
Sotomayor  de  Soto,  know  the  hidalgo,  Amyas 
Leigh!" 

As  he  spoke,  the  Spaniard  came  forward,  still 
in  his  armor,  all  save  his  head,  which  was  bound 
up  in  a  handkerchief. 

He  was  an  exceedingly  tall  and  graceful  per- 
sonage, of  that  sangre  azul  which  marked  high 
Visigothic  descent;  golden-haired  and  fair- 
skinned,  with  hands  as  small  and  white  as  a 
woman's;  his  lips  were  delicate  but  thin,  and 
compressed  closely  at  the  corners  of  the  mouth ; 
and  his  pale  blue  eye  had  a  glassy  dulness.  In 
spite  of  his  beauty  and  his  carriage,  Amyas  shrank 
from  him  instinctively ;  and  yet  he  could  not  help 
holding  out  his  hand  in  return,  as  the  Spaniard, 


How  Amyas  Kept  Christmas  Day    297 

holding   out   his,  said   languidly,   in  most  sweet 
and  sonorous  Spanish  — 

"I  kiss  his  hands  and  feet.  The  seflor  speaks, 
I  am  told,  my  native  tongue?" 

"I  have  that  honor." 

"Then  accept  in  it  (for  I  can  better  express 
myself  therein  than  in  English,  though  I  am  not 
altogether  ignorant  of  that  witty  and  learned 
language)  the  expression  of  my  pleasure  at  having 
fallen  into  the  hands  of  one  so  renowned  in  war 
and  travel;  and  of  one  also,"  he  added,  glancing 
at  Amyas 's  giant  bulk,  "the  vastness  of  whose 
strength,  beyond  that  of  common  mortality,  makes 
it  no  more  shame  for  me  to  have  been  overpowered 
and  carried  away  by  him  than  if  my  captor  had 
been  a  paladin  of  Charlemagne's." 

Honest  Amyas  bowed  and  stammered,  a  little 
thrown  off  his  balance  by  the  unexpected  assur- 
ance and  cool  flattery  of  his  prisoner;  but  he 
said  — 

"If  you  are  satisfied,  illustrious  seflor,  I 
am  bound  to  be  so.  I  only  trust  that  in  my 
hurry  and  the  darkness  I  have  not  hurt  you 
unnecessarily. " 

The  Don  laughed  a  pretty  little  hollow  laugh: 
"No,  kind  seflor,  my  head,  I  trust,  will  after  a 
few  days  have  become  united  to  my  shoulders; 
and,  for  the  present,  your  company  will  make  me 
forget  any  slight  discomfort." 

"Pardon  me,  sefior;  but  by  this  daylight  I 
should  have  seen  that  armor  before." 

"  I  doubt  it  not,  seflor,  as  having  been  yourself 
also  in  the  forefront  of  the  battle,"  said  the 
Spaniard,  with  a  proud  smile. 

"  If  I  am  right,  seflor,  you  are  he  who  yester- 


298  Westward  Ho ! 

day  held  up  the  standard  after  it  was  shot 
down." 

"I  do  not  deny  that  undeserved  honor;  and 
I  have  to  thank  the  courtesy  of  you  and  your 
countrymen  for  having  permitted  me  to  do  so 
with  impunity." 

"Ah,  I  heard  of  that  brave  feat,"  said  the 
lord  deputy.  "You  should  consider  yourself, 
Mr.  Leigh,  honored  by  being  enabled  to  show 
courtesy  to  such  a  warrior." 

How  long  this  interchange  of  solemn  compli- 
ments, of  which  Amyas  was  getting  somewhat 
weary,  would  have  gone  on,  I  know  not;  but  at 
that  moment  Raleigh  entered  hastily  — 

"My  lord,  they  have  hung  out  a  white  flag, 
and  are  calling  for  a  parley!" 

The  Spaniard  turned  pale,  and  felt  for  his 
sword,  which  was  gone;  and  then,  with  a 
bitter  laugh,  murmured  to  himself  —  "As  I 
expected." 

"  I  am  very  sorry  to  hear  it.  Would  to  Heaven 
they  had  simply  fought  it  out !  "  said  Lord  Grey, 
half  to  himself;  and  then,  "  Go,  Captain  Raleigh, 
and  answer  them  that  (saving  this  gentleman's 
presence)  the  laws  of  war  forbid  a  parley  with 
any  who  are  leagued  with  rebels  against  their 
lawful  sovereign." 

"  But  what  if  they  wish  to  treat  for  this  gentle- 
man's ransom?  " 

"  For  their  own,  more  likely,"  said  the  Spaniard ; 
"  but  tell  them,  on  my  part,  seftor,  that  Don  Guz- 
man refuses  to  be  ransomed;  and  will  return  to 
no  camp  where  the  commanding  officer,  unable  to 
infect  his  captains  with  his  own  cowardice,  dis- 
honors them  against  their  will." 


How  Amyas  Kept  Christmas  Day    299 

"You  speak  sharply,  sefior,"  said  Winter,  after 
Raleigh  had  gone  out. 

"  I  have  reason,  Seflor  Admiral,  as  you  will  find, 
I  fear,  erelong." 

"  We  shall  have  the  honor  of  leaving  you  here, 
for  the  present,  sir,  as  Admiral  Winter's  guest," 
said  the  lord  deputy. 

"  But  not  my  sword,  it  seems." 

"  Pardon  me,  sefior ;  but  no  one  has  deprived 
you  of  your  sword,"  said  Winter. 

"  I  don't  wish  to  pain  you,  sir,"  said  Amyas,  "  but 
I  fear  that  we  were  both  careless  enough  to  leave 
it  behind  last  night." 

A  flash  passed  over  the  Spaniard's  face,  which 
disclosed  terrible  depths  of  fury  and  hatred  be- 
neath that  quiet  mask,  as  the  summer  lightning 
displays  the  black  abysses  of  the  thunder-storm ; 
but  like  the  summer  lightning  it  passed  almost 
unseen ;  and  blandly  as  ever,  he  answered : 

"  I  can  forgive  you  for  such  a  neglect,  most 
valiant  sir,  more  easily  than  I  can  forgive  myself. 
Farewell,  sir !  One  who  has  lost  his  sword  is  no 
fit  company  for  you."  And  as  Amyas  and  the 
rest  departed,  he  plunged  into  the  inner  tent, 
stamping  and  writhing,  gnawing  his  hands  with 
rage  and  shame. 

As  Amyas  came  out  on  the  battery,  Yeo  hailed 
him: 

"  Master  Amyas  !  Hillo,  sir !  For  the  love  of 
Heaven,  tell  me  !  " 

"What,  then?" 

"Is  his  lordship  stanch?  Will  he  do  the 
Lord's  work  faithfully,  root  and  branch:  or  will 
he  spare  the  Amalekites  ?  " 

"The   latter,  I  think,  old  hip-and-thigh,"  said 


300  Westward  Ho ! 

Amyas,  hurrying  forward  to  hear  the  news  from 
Raleigh,  who  appeared  in  sight  once  more. 

"They  ask  to  depart  with  bag  and  baggage," 
said  he,  when  he  came  up. 

"  God  do  so  to  me,  and  more  also,  if  they  carry 
away  a  straw !  "  said  Lord  Grey.  "  Make  short 
work  of  it,  sir !  " 

"  I  do  not  know  how  that  will  be,  my  lord ;  as  I 
came  up  a  captain  shouted  to  me  off  the  walls  that 
there  were  mutineers ;  and,  denying  that  he  sur- 
rendered, would  have  pulled  down  the  flag  of 
truce,  but  the  soldiers  beat  him  off." 

"  A  house  divided  against  itself  will  not  stand 
long,  gentlemen.  Tell  them  that  I  give  no  condi- 
tions. Let  them  lay  down  their  arms,  and  trust  in 
the  Bishop  of  Rome  who  sent  them  hither,  and  may 
come  to  save  them  if  he  wants  them.  Gunners,  if 
you  see  the  white  flag  go  down,  open  your  fire 
instantly.  Captain  Raleigh,  we  need  your  counsel 
here.  Mr.  Gary,  will  you  be  my  herald  this  time?" 

"  A  better  Protestant  never  went  on  a  pleasanter 
errand,  my  lord." 

So  Gary  went,  and  then  ensued  an  argument,  as 
to  what  should  be  done  with  the  prisoners  in  case 
of  a  surrender. 

I  cannot  tell  whether  my  Lord  Grey  meant,  by 
offering  conditions  which  the  Spaniards  would  not 
accept,  to  force  them  into  righting  the  quarrel  out, 
and  so  save  himself  the  responsibility  of  deciding 
on  their  fate ;  or  whether  his  mere  natural  stub- 
bornness, as  well  as  his  just  indignation,  drove 
him  on  too  far  to  retract:  but  the  council  of  war 
which  followed  was  both  a  sad  and  a  stormy  one, 
and  one  which  he  had  reason  to  regret  to  his 
dying  day.  What  was  to  be  done  with  the  enemy? 


How  Amyas  Kept  Christmas  Day    301 

They  already  outnumbered  the  English ;  and  some 
fifteen  hundred  of  Desmond's  wild  Irish  hovered  in 
the  forests  round,  ready  to  side  with  the  winning 
party,  or  even  to  attack  the  English  at  the  least 
sign  of  vacillation  or  fear.     They  could  not  carry 
the  Spaniards  away  with  them,  for  they  had  neither 
shipping  nor  food,  not  even  handcuffs  enough  for 
them ;  and  as  Mackworth  told  Winter  when  he  pro- 
posed it,  the  only  plan  was  for  him  to  make  San 
Josepho  a  present   of  his  ships,  and  swim  home 
himself  as  he  could.     To  turn  loose  in  Ireland,  as 
Captain  Touch  urged,  on  the  other  hand,  seven  hun- 
dred such  monsters  of  lawlessness,  cruelty,  and  lust, 
as  Spanish  and  Italian  condottieri  were  in  those 
days,  was  as  fatal  to  their  own  safety  as  cruel  to  the 
wretched  Irish.  All  the  captains,  without  exception, 
followed  on  the  same  side.    "  What  was  to  be  done, 
then?"  asked  Lord   Grey,  impatiently.     "Would 
they  have  him  murder  them  all  in  cold  blood?" 
And   for   a  while   every  man,  knowing  that   it 
must  come  to  that,  and  yet  not  daring  to  say  it ; 
till  Sir  Warham  St.  Leger,  the  marshal  of  Munster, 
spoke  out  stoutly :  "  Foreigners  had  been  scoffing 
them  too  long  and   too  truly  with  waging  these 
Irish  wars  as  if  they  meant  to  keep  them  alive, 
rather  than  end  them.     Mercy  and  faith  to  every 
Irishman  who  would  show  mercy  and  faith,  was  his 
motto;  but  to  invaders,  no  mercy.     Ireland  was 
England's  vulnerable  point ;  it  might  be  some  day 
her   ruin ;   a  terrible  example   must   be   made   of 
those  who  dare  to  touch  the  sore.     Rather  pardon 
the  Spaniards  for  landing  in  the  Thames  than  in 
Ireland  !  "  —  till  Lord  Grey  became  much  excited, 
and  turning  as  a  last  hope  to  Raleigh,  asked  his 
opinion :  but  Raleigh's  silver  tongue  was  that  day 


302  West  ward  Ho! 

not  on  the  side  of  indulgence.  He  skilfully  reca- 
pitulated the  arguments  of  his  fellow-captains,  im- 
proving them  as  he  went  on,  till  each  worthy 
soldier  was  surprised  to  find  himself  so  much  wiser 
a  man  than  he  had  thought ;  and  finished  by  one 
of  his  rapid  and  passionate  perorations  upon  his 
favorite  theme  —  the  West  Indian  cruelties  of  the 
Spaniards,  ".  .  .  by  which  great  tracts  and  fair 
countries  are  now  utterly  stripped  of  inhabitants 
by  heavy  bondage  and  torments  unspeakable.  Oh, 
witless  Islanders !  "  said  he,  apostrophizing  the 
Irish,  "  would  to  Heaven  that  you  were  here  to 
listen  to  me !  What  other  fate  awaits  you,  if  this 
viper,  which  you  are  so  ready  to  take  into  your 
bosom,  should  be  warmed  to  life,  but  to  groan  like 
the  Indians,  slaves  to  the  Spaniard ;  but  to  perish 
like  the  Indians,  by  heavy  burdens,  cruel  chains, 
plunder  and  ravishment ;  scourged,  racked,  roasted, 
stabbed,  sawn  in  sundei,  cast  to  feed  the  dogs,  as 
simple  and  more  righteous  peoples  have  perished 
ere  now  by  millions?  And  what  else,  I  say,  had 
been  the  fate  of  Ireland  had  this  invasion  pros- 
pered, which  God  has  now,  by  our  weak  hands, 
confounded  and  brought  to  naught?  Shall  we 
then  answer  it,  my  lord,  either  to  our  conscience, 
our  God,  or  our  queen,  if  we  shall  set  loose  men 
(not  one  of  whom,  I  warrant,  but  is  stained  with 
murder  on  murder)  to  go  and  fill  up  the  cup  of 
their  iniquity  among  these  silly  sheep  ?  Have  not 
their  native  wolves,  their  barbarous  chieftains, 
shorn,  peeled,  and  slaughtered  them  enough 
already,  but  we  must  add  this  pack  of  foreign 
wolves  to  the  number  of  their  tormentors,  and  fit 
the  Desmond  with  a  body-guard  of  seven,  yea, 
seven  hundred  devils  worse  than  himself?  Nay, 


How  Amyas  Kept  Christmas  Day    303 

rather  let  us  do  violence  to  our  own  human  nature, 
and  show  ourselves  in  appearance  rigorous,  that 
we  may  be  kind  indeed ;  lest  while  we  presume  to 
be  over-merciful  to  the  guilty,  we  prove  ourselves 
to  be  over-cruel  to  the  innocent." 

"  Captain  Raleigh,  Captain  Raleigh,"  said  Lord 
Grey,  "the  blood  of  these  men  be  ou  your  head  ! " 

"  It  ill  befits  your  lordship,'  answered  Raleigh, 
"  to  throw  on  your  subordinates  the  blame  of  that 
which  your  reason  approves  as  necessary." 

"  I  should  have  thought,  sir,  that  on-  so  noted 
for  ambition  as  Captain  Raleigh  would  have  been 
more  careful  of  the  favor  of  that  queen  for  whose 
smiles  he  is  said  to  be  so  longing  a  competitor. 
If  you  have  not  yet  been  01  her  counsels,  sir,  I  can 
tell  you  you  are  not  likely  to  be.  She  will  be 
furious  when  she  hears  of  this  cruelty." 

Lord  Grey  had  lost  his  temper:  but  Raleigh 
kept  his,  and  answered  quietly  — 

"  Her  majesty  shall  at  least  not  find  me  among 
the  number  of  those  who  preLr  her  favor  to  her 
safety,  and  abuse  to  their  own  profit  that  over- 
tenderness  and  mercifulness  of  heart  which  is  the 
only  blemish  (and  yet,  rather  like  a  mole  on  a 
fair  cheek,  but  a  new  beauty)  in  her  manifold 
perfections." 

At  this  juncture  Gary  returned. 

"  My  lord,"  said  he,  in  some  confusion,  "  I  have 
proposed  your  terms ;  but  the  captains  still  entreat 
for  some  mitigation ;  and,  to  tell  you  truth,  one  of 
them  has  insisted  on  accompanying  me  hither  to 
plead  his  cause  himself." 

"  I  will  not  see  him,  sir.     Who  is  he?" 

"  His  name  is  Sebastian  of  Modena,  my  lord." 

"Sebastian  of  Modena?    What  think  you,  gen- 


304  Westward  Ho ! 

tlemen  ?  May  we  make  an  exception  in  favor  of 
so  famous  a  soldier?" 

"  So  villainous  a  cut-throat,"  said  Zouch  to 
Raleigh,  under  his  breath. 

All,  however,  were  for  speaking  with  so  famous 
a  man ;  and  in  came,  in  full  armor,  a.  short,  bull- 
necked  Italian,  evidently  of  immense  strength,  of 
the  true  Caesar  Borgia  stamp. 

"Will  you  please  to  be  seated,  sir?"  said  Lord 
Grey,  coldly. 

"  I  kiss  your  hands,  most  illustrious :  but  I  do 
not  sit  in  an  enemy's  camp.  Ha,  my  friend 
Zouch !  How  has  your  signoria  fared  since  we 
fought  side  by  side  at  Lepanto  ?  So  you  too  are 
here,  sitting  in  council  on  the  hanging  of  me." 

"  What  is  your  errand,  sir  ?  Time  is  short,"  said 
the  lord  deputy. 

"  Corpo  di  Bacco  !  It  has  been  long  enough  all 
the  morning,  for  my  rascals  have  kept  me  and  my 
friend  the  Colonel  Hercules  (whom  you  know, 
doubtless)  prisoners  in  our  tents  at  the  pike's 
point.  My  lord  deputy,  I  have  but  a  few  words. 
I  shall  thank  you  to  take  every  soldier  in  the 
fort  —  Italian,  Spaniard,  and  Irish  —  and  hang 
them  up  as  high  as  Haman,  for  a  set  of  mutinous 
cowards,  with  the  arch-traitor  San  Josepho  at  their 
head." 

"  I  am  obliged  to  you  for  your  offer,  sir,  and 
shall  deliberate  presently  as  to  whether  I  shall  not 
accept  it." 

"  But  as  for  us  captains,  really  your  excellency 
must  consider  that  we  are  gentlemen  born,  and 
give  us  either  buena  querra,  as  the  Spaniards  say, 
or  a  fair  chance  for  life ;  and  so  to  my  business." 

"Stay,   sir.     Answer   this  first.     Have  you  or 


How  Amyas  Kept  Christmas  Day    305 

yours  any  commission  to  show  either  from  the 
King  of  Spain  or  any  other  potentate?  " 

"  Never  a  one  but  the  cause  of  Heaven  and  our 
own  swords.  And  with  them,  my  lord,  we  are 
ready  to  meet  any  gentlemen  of  your  camp, 
man  to  man,  with  our  swords  only,  half-way  be- 
tween your  leaguer  and  ours;  and  I  doubt  not 
that  your  lordship  will  see  fair  play.  Will  any 
gentleman  accept  so  civil  an  offer?  There  sits  a 
tall  youth  in  that  corner  who  would  suit  me  very 
well.  Will  any  fit  my  gallant  comrades  with  half- 
an-hour's  punto  and  stoccado?" 

There  was  a  silence,  all  looking  at  the  lord  dep- 
uty, whose  eyes  were  kindling  in  a  very  ugly  way. 

"  No  answer  ?  Then  I  must  proceed  to  exhor- 
tation. So  !  Will  that  be  sufficient?  " 

And  walking  composedly  across  the  tent,  the 
fearless  ruffian  quietly  stooped  down,  and  smote 
Amyas  Leigh  full  in  the  face. 

Up  sprang  Amyas,  heedless  of  all  the  august 
assembly,  and  with  a  single  buffet  felled  him  to 
the  earth. 

"  Excellent !  "  said  he,  rising  unabashed.  "  I 
can  always  trust  my  instinct.  I  knew  the  moment 
I  saw  him  that  he  was  a  cavalier  worth  letting 
blood.  Now,  sir,  your  sword  and  harness,  and  I 
am  at  your  service  outside  !  " 

The  solemn  and  sententious  Englishmen  were 
altogether  taken  aback  by  the  Italian's  impudence ; 
but  Zouch  settled  the  matter. 

"  Most  noble  captain,  will  you  be  pleased  to 
recollect  a  certain  little  occurrence  at  Messina,  in 
the  year  1575?  For  if  you  do  not,  I  do;  and  beg 
to  inform  this  gentleman  that  you  are  unworthy 
of  his  sword,  and  had  you,  unluckily  for  you,  been, 
Vol.  &-14 


306  Westward  Ho ! 

an  Englishman,  would  have  found  the  fashions  of 
our  country  so  different  from  your  own  that  you 
would  have  been  then  hanged,  sir,  and  probably 
may  be  so  still." 

The  Italian's  sword  flashed  out  in  a  moment: 
but  Lord  Grey  interfered. 

"  No  fighting  here,  gentlemen.  That  may  wait ; 
and,  what  is  more,  shall  wait  till  —  Strike  their 
swords  down,  Raleigh,  Mackworth !  Strike  their 
swords  down !  Colonel  Sebastian,  you  will  be 
pleased  to  return  as  you  came,  in  safety,  having 
lost  nothing,  as  (I  frankly  tell  you)  you  have 
gained  nothing,  by  your  wild  bearing  here.  We 
shall  proceed  to  deliberate  on  your  fate." 

"I  trust,  my  lord,"  said  Amyas,  "that  you  will 
spare  this  braggart's  life,  at  least  for  a  day  or  two. 
For  in  spite  of  Captain  Zouch's  warning,  I  must 
have  to  do  with  him  yet,  or  my  cheek  will  rise  up 
in  judgment  against  me  at  the  last  day." 

"  Well  spoken,  lad,"  said  the  colonel,  as  he 
swung  out.  "  So  !  worth  a  reprieve,  by  this  sword, 
to  have  one  more  rapier-rattle  before  the  gallows  1 
Then  I  take  back  no  further  answer,  my  lord 
deputy?  Not  even  our  swords,  our  virgin  blades, 
signer,  the  soldier's  cherished  bride?  Shall  we 
go  forth  weeping  widowers,  and  leave  to  strange 
embrace  the  lovely  steel?" 

"  None,  sir,  by  heaven !  "  said  he,  waxing  wroth. 
"  Do  you  come  hither,  pirates  as  you  are,  to 
dictate  terms  upon  a  foreign  soil?  Is  it  not 
enough  to  have  set  up  here  the  Spanish  flag,  and 
claimed  the  land  of  Ireland  as  the  Pope's  gift  to 
the  Spaniard ;  violated  the  laws  of  nations,  and 
the  solemn  treaties  of  princes,  under  color  of  a 
mad  superstition?" 


How  Amyas  Kept  Christmas  Day    307 

"  Superstition,  my  lord  ?  Nothing  less.  Be- 
lieve a  philosopher  who  has  not  said  a  pater  or  an 
ave  for  seven  years  past  at  least  Quod  tango 
?redot  is  my  motto;  and  though  I  am  bound  to 
say,  under  pain  of  the  Inquisition,  that  the  most 
holy  Father  the  Pope  has  given  this  land  of  Ire- 
land to  his  most  Catholic  Majesty  the  King  of 
Spain,  Queen  Elizabeth  having  forfeited  her  title 
to  it  by  heresy,  —  why,  my  lord,  I  believe  it  as  little 
as  you  do.  I  believe  that  Ireland  would  have 
been  mine,  if  I  had  won  it;  I  believe  religiously 
that  it  is  not  mine,  now  I  have  lost  it.  What  is, 
is,  and  a  fig  for  priests ;  to-day  to  thee,  to-morrow 
to  me.  Addio  !  "  And  out  he  swung 

"There  goes  a  most  gallant  rascal,"  said  the 
lord  deputy. 

"And  a  most  rascally  gallant,"  said  Zouch. 
"  The  murder  of  his  own  page,  of  which  I  gave 
him  a  remembrancer,  is  among  the  least  of  his  sins." 

"  And  now,  Captain  Raleigh,"  said  Lord  Grey, 
"as  you  have  been  so  earnest  in  preaching  this 
butchery,  I  have  a  right  to  ask  none  but  you  to 
practise  it" 

Raleigh  bit  his  lip,  and  replied  by  the  "  quip 
courteous  "  — 

"I  am  at  least  a  man,  my  lord,  who  thinks  it 
shame  to  allow  others  to  do  that  which  I  dare  not 
do  myself." 

Lord  Grey  might  probably  have  returned  "  the 
countercheck  quarrelsome,"  had  not  Mackworth 
risen  — 

"And  I,  my  lord,  being  in  that  matter  at  least 
one  of  Captain  Raleigh's  kidney,  will  just  go  with 
him  to  see  that  he  takes  no  harm  by  being  bold 
enough  to  carry  out  an  ugly  business,  and  serv- 


308  Westward  Ho ! 

ing  these  rascals  as  their  countrymen  served  Mr. 
Oxenham." 

"I  bid  you  good  morning,  then,  gentlemen, 
though  I  cannot  bid  you  God  speed,"  said  Lord 
Grey;  and  sitting  down  again,  covered  his  face 
with  his  hands,  and,  to  the  astonishment  of  all 
bystanders,  burst,  say  the  chroniclers,  into  tears. 

Amyas  followed  Raleigh  out.  The  latter  was 
pale,  but  determined,  and  very  wroth  against  the 
deputy. 

"  Does  the  man  take  me  for  a  hangman,"  said 
he,  "  that  he  speaks  to  me  thus  ?  But  such  is  the 
way  of  the  great.  If  you  neglect  your  duty,  they 
haul  you  over  the  coals ;  if  you  do  it,  you  must 
do  it  on  your  own  responsibility.  Farewell, 
Amyas ;  you  will  not  shrink  from  me  as  a  butcher 
when  I  return?" 

"  God  forbid  !     But  how  will  you  do  it?  " 

"  March  one  company  in,  and  drive  them  forth, 
and  let  the  other  cut  them  down  as  they  come 
out  — Pah!" 

It  was  done.  Right  or  wrong,  it  was  done. 
The  shrieks  and  curses  had  died  away,  and  the 
Fort  del  Oro  was  a  red  shambles,  which  the  sol- 
diers were  trying  to  cover  from  the  sight  of  heaven 
and  earth,  by  dragging  the  bodies  into  the  ditch, 
and  covering  them  with  the  ruins  of  the  rampart ; 
while  the  Irish,  who  had  beheld  from  the  woods 
that  awful  warning,  fled  trembling  into  the  deepest 
recesses  of  the  forest.  It  was  done ;  and  it  never 
needed  to  be  done  again.  The  hint  was  severe, 
but  it  was  sufficient.  Many  years  passed  before  a 
Spaniard  set  foot  again  in  Ireland. 

The  Spanish  and   Italian  officers  were  spared, 


How  Amyas  Kept  Christmas  Day    309 

and  Amyas  had  Don  Guzman  Maria  Magdalena 
Sotomayor  de  Soto  duly  adjudged  to  him,  as  his 
prize  by  right  of  war.  He  was,  of  course,  ready 
enough  to  fight  Sebastian  of  Modena:  but  Lord 
Grey  forbade  the  duel :  blood  enough  had  been 
shed  already.  The  next  question  was,  where  to 
bestow  Don  Guzman  till  his  ransom  should  arrive ; 
and  as  Amyas  coold  not  well  deliver  the  gallant 
Don  into  the  safe  custody  of  Mrs.  Leigh  at  Bur- 
rough,  and  still  less  into  that  of  Frank  at  Court, 
he  was  fain  to  write  to  Sir  Richard  Grenville,  and 
ask  his  advice,  and  in  the  meanwhile  keep  the 
Spaniard  with  him  opon  parole,  which  he  frankly 
gave,  —  saying  that  as  for  running  away,  he  had 
nowhere  to  run  to ;  and  as  for  joining  the  Irish 
he  had  no  mind  to  turn  pig;  and  Amyas  found 
him,  as  shall  be  hereafter  told,  pleasant  company 
enough.  But  one  morning  Raleigh  entered  — 

"  I  have  dene  you  a  good  turn,  Leigh,  if  you 
think  it  one.  I  have  talked  St.  Leger  into  making 
you  my  lieutenant,  and  giving  you  the  custody  of 
a  right  pleasant  hermitage  —  some  castle  Shacka- 
tory  or  other  in  the  midst  of  a  big  bog,  where 
time  will  run  swift  and  smooth  with  you,  between 
hunting  wild  Irish,  snaring  snipes,  and  drinking 
yourself  drunk  with  usquebaugh  over  a  turf  fire." 

"  I  '11  go,"  quoth  Amyas ;  '*  anything  for  work." 
So  he  went  and  took  possession  of  his  lieutenancy 
and  his  black  robber  tower,  and  there  passed  the 
rest  of  the  winter,  fighting  or  hunting  all  day,  and 
chatting  and  reading  all  the  evening,  with  Sefior 
Don  Guzman,  who,  like  a  good  soldier  of  fortune, 
made  himself  thoroughly  at  home,  and  a  general 
favorite  with  the  soldiers. 

At  first,  indeed,  his  Spanish  pride  and  stateli- 


3 1  o  Westward  Ho  ! 

ness,  and  Amyas's  English  taciturnity,  kept  the 
two  apart  somewhat ;  but  they  soon  began,  if  not 
to  trust,  at  least  to  like  each  other ;  and  Don  Guz- 
man told  Amyas,  bit  by  bit,  who  he  was,  of  what 
an  ancient  house,  and  of  what  a  poor  one ;  and 
laughed  over  the  very  small  chance  of  his  ransom 
being  raised,  and  the  certainty  that,  at  least,  it 
could  not  come  for  a  couple  of  years,  seeing  that 
the  only  De  Soto  who  had  a  penny  to  spare  was  a 
fat  old  dean  at  St.  Yago  de  Leon,  in  the  Caracas, 
at  which  place  Don  Guzman  had  been  born.  This 
of  course  led  to  much  talk  about  the  West  Indies, 
and  the  Don  was  as  much  interested  to  find  that 
Amyas  had  been  one  of  Drake's  world-famous 
crew,  as  Amyas  was  to  find  that  his  captive  was 
the  grandson  of  none  other  than  that  most  terrible 
of  man-hunters,  Don  Ferdinando  de  Soto,  the  con- 
queror of  Florida,  of  whom  Amyas  had  read  many 
a  time  in  Las  Casas,  "  as  the  captain  of  tyrants, 
the  notoriousest  and  most  experimented  amongst 
them  that  have  done  the  most  hurts,  mischiefs, 
and  destructions  in  many  realms."  And  often 
enough  his  blood  boiled,  and  he  had  much  ado 
to  recollect  that  the  speaker  was  his  guest,  as 
Don  Guzman  chatted  away  about  his  grandfather's 
hunts  of  innocent  women  and  children,  murders 
of  caciques  and  burnings  alive  of  guides,  "pour 
encourager  les  autres"  without,  seemingly,  the 
least  feeling  that  the  victims  were  human  beings 
or  subjects  for  human  pity;  anything,  in  short, 
but  heathen  dogs,  enemies  of  God,  servants  of 
the  devil,  to  be  used  by  the  Christian  when  he 
needed,  and  when  not  needed  killed  down  as  cum- 
berers  of  the  ground.  But  Don  Guzman  was  a 
most  finished  gentleman  nevertheless;  and  told 


How  Amyas  Kept  Christmas  Day    3 1  r 

many  a  good  story  of  the  Indies,  and  told  it  well ; 
and  over  and  above  his  stories,  he  had  among  his 
baggage  two  books,  —  the  one  Antonio  Galvano's 
"Discoveries  of  the  World,"  a  mine  of  winter  even- 
ing amusement  to  Amyas ;  and  the  other,  a  manu- 
script book,  which,  perhaps,  it  had  been  well  for 
Amyas  had  he  never  seen.  For  it  was  none  other 
than  a  sort  of  rough  journal  which  Don  Guzman 
had  kept  as  a  lad,  when  he  went  down  with  the 
Adelantado  Gonzales  Ximenes  de  Casada,  from 
Peru  to  the  River  of  Amazons,  to  look  for  the 
golden  country  of  El  Dorado,  and  the  city  of 
Manoa,  which  stands  in  the  midst  of  the  White 
Lake,  and  equals  or  surpasses  in  glory  even  the 
palace  of  the  Inca  Huaynacapac ;  "  all  the  vessels 
of  whose  house  and  kitchen  are  of  gold  and  silver, 
and  in  his  wardrobe  statues  of  gold  which  seemed 
giants,  and  figures  in  proportion  and  bigness  of 
all  the  beasts,  birds,  trees,  and  herbs  of  the  earth, 
and  the  fishes  of  the  water;  and  ropes,  budgets, 
chests,  and  troughs  of  gold:  yea,  and  a  garden 
of  pleasure  in  an  Island  near  Puna,  where  they 
went  to  recreate  themselves  when  they  would 
take  the  air  of  the  sea,  which  had  all  kind  of 
garden  herbs,  flowers,  and  trees  of  gold  and  silver 
of  an  invention  and  magnificence  till  then  never 
seen." 

Now  the  greater  part  of  this  treasure  (and  be  it 
remembered  that  these  wonders  were  hardly  exag- 
gerated, and  that  there  were  many  men  alive  then 
who  had  beheld  them,  as  they  had  worse  things, 
"  with  their  corporal  and  mortal  eyes  ")  was  hidden 
by  the  Indians  when  Pizarro  conquered  Peru  and 
slew  Atahuallpa,  son  of  Huaynacapac ;  at  whose 
death,  it  was  said,  one  of  the  Inca's  younger 


3 1 2  Westward  Ho  ! 

brothers  fled  out  of  Peru,  and  taking  with  him  a 
great  army,  vanquished  all  that  tract  which  lieth 
between  the  great  Rivers  of  Amazons  and  Bara- 
quan,  otherwise  called  Maranon  and  Orenoque. 

There  he  sits  to  this  day,  beside  the  golden 
lake,  in  the  golden  city,  which  is  in  breadth  a 
three  days'  journey,  covered,  he  and  his  court, 
with  gold  dust  from  head  to  foot,  waiting  for  the 
fulfilment  of  the  ancient  prophecy  which  was 
written  in  the  temple  of  Caxamarca,  where  his 
ancestors  worshipped  of  old;  that  heroes  shall 
come  out  of  the  West,  and  lead  him  back  across 
the  forests  to  the  kingdom  of  Peru,  and  restore 
him  to  the  glory  of  his  forefathers. 

Golden  phantom !  so  possible,  so  probable,  to 
imaginations  which  were  yet  reeling  before  the 
actual  and  veritable  prodigies  of  Peru,  Mexico, 
and  the  East  Indies.  Golden  phantom !  which 
has  cost  already  the  lives  of  thousands,  and  shall 
yet  cost  more;  from  Diego  de  Ordas,  and  Juan 
Corteso,  and  many  another,  who  went  forth  on  the 
quest  by  the  Andes,  and  by  the  Orinoco,  and  by 
tie  Amazons ;  Antonio  Sedenno,  with  his  ghastly 
caravan  of  manacled  Indians,  "  on  whose  dead 
carcasses  the  tigers  being  fleshed,  assaulted  the 
Spaniards ; "  Augustine  Delgado,  who  "  came  to 
a  cacique,  who  entertained  him  with  all  kindness, 
and  gave  him  beside  much  gold  and  slaves,  three 
nymphs  very  beautiful,  which  bare  the  names  of 
three  provinces,  Guanba,  Gotoguane,  and  Maia- 
rare.  To  requite  which  manifold  courtesies,  he 
carried  off,  not  only  all  the  gold,  but  all  the 
Indians  he  could  seize,  and  took  them  in  irons  to 
Cubagua,  and  sold  them  for  slaves;  after  which, 
Delgado  was  shot  in  the  eye  by  an  Indian,  of 


How  Amyas  Kept  Christmas  Day    313 

which  hurt  he  died;"  Pedro  d'Orsua,  who  found 
the  cinnamon  forests  of  Loxas,  "whom  his  men 
murdered,  and  afterwards  beheaded  Lady  Anes 
his  wife,  who  forsook  not  her  lord  in  all  his 
travels  unto  death,"  and  many  another,  who  has 
vanished  with  valiant  comrades  at  his  back  into 
the  green  gulfs  of  the  primaeval  forests,  never  to 
emerge  again.  Golden  phantom  !  man-devouring, 
whose  maw  is  never  satiate  with  souls  of  heroes; 
fatal  to  Spain,  more  fatal  still  to  England  upon 
that  shameful  day,  when  the  last  of  Elizabeth's 
heroes  shall  lay  down  his  head  upon  the  block, 
nominally  for  having  believed  what  all  around 
him  believed  likewise  till  they  found  it  expedient 
to  deny  it  in  order  to  curry  favor  with  the 
crowned  cur  who  betrayed  him,  really  because 
he  alone  dared  to  make  one  last  protest  in  behalf 
of  liberty  and  Protestantism  against  the  incoming 
night  of  tyranny  and  superstition.  Little  thought 
Amyas,  as  he  devoured  the  pages  of  that  manu- 
script, that  he  was  laying  a  snare  for  the  life  of 
the  man  whom,  next  to  Drake  and  Grenville,  he 
most  admired  on  earth. 

But  Don  Guzman,  on  the  other  hand,  seemed 
to  have  an  instinct  that  that  book  might  be  a 
fatal  gift  to  his  captor;  for  one  day  ere  Amyas 
had  looked  into  it,  he  began  questioning  the 
Don  about  El  Dorado.  Whereon  Don  Guzman 
replied  with  one  of  those  smiles  of  his,  which  (as 
Amyas  said  afterwards)  was  so  abominably  like  a 
sneer,  that  he  had  often  hard  work  to  keep  his 
hands  off  the  man  — 

"Ah !  You  have  been  eating  of  the  fruit  of  the 
tree  of  knowledge,  seflor?  Well;  if  you  have 
any  ambition  to  follow  many  another  brave  cap- 


314  Westward  Ho ! 

tain  to  the  pit,  I  know  no  shorter  or  easier  path 
than  is  contained  in  that  little  book." 

"  I  have  never  opened  your  book,"  said  Amyas; 
"your  private  manuscripts  are  no  concern  of 
mine:  but  my  man  who  recovered  your  baggage 
read  part  of  it,  knowing  no  better;  and  now 
you  are  at  liberty  to  tell  me  as  little  as  you 
like." 

The  "man,"  it  should  be  said,  was  none  other 
than  Salvation  Yeo,  who  had  attached  himself 
by  this  time  inseparably  to  Amyas,  in  quality 
of  body-guard:  and,  as  was  common  enough  in 
those  days,  had  turned  soldier  for  the  nonce,  and 
taken  under  his  patronage  two  or  three  rusty 
bases  (swivels)  and  falconets  (four-pounders), 
which  grinned  harmlessly  enough  from  the  tower 
top  across  the  cheerful  expanse  of  bog. 

Amyas  once  asked  him,  how  he  reconciled  this 
Irish  sojourn  with  his  vow  to  find  his  little  maid? 
Yeo  shook  his  head. 

"I  can't  tell,  sir,  but  there's  something  that 
makes  me  always  to  think  of  you  when  I  think  of 
her;  and  that's  often  enough,  the  Lord  knows. 
Whether  it  is  that  I  be  n't  to  find  the  dear  with- 
out your  help;  or  whether  it  is  your  pleasant  face 
puts  me  in  mind  of  hers;  or  what,  I  can't  tell; 
but  don't  you  part  me  from  you,  sir,  for  I  'm  like 
Ruth,  and  where  you  lodge  I  lodge;  and  where 
you  go  I  go;  and  where  you  die  —  though  I  shall 
die  many  a  year  first  —  there  I  '11  die,  I  hope  and 
trust ;  for  I  can't  abear  you  out  of  my  sight ;  and 
that 's  the  truth  thereof." 

So  Yeo  remained  with  Amyas,  while  Gary 
went  elsewhere  with  Sir  Warham  St.  Leger,  and 
the  two  friends  met  seldom  for  many  months;  so 


How  Amyas  Kept  Christmas  Day    315 

that  Amyas's  only  companion  was  Don  Guzman, 
who,  as  he  grew  more  familiar,  and  more  careless 
about  what  he  said  and  did  in  his  captor's 
presence,  often  puzzled  and  scandalized  him  by 
his  waywardness.  Fits  of  deep  melancholy 
alternated  with  bursts  of  Spanish  boastfulness, 
utterly  astonishing  to  the  modest  and  sober- 
minded  Englishman,  who  would  often  have  fancied 
him  inspired  by  usquebaugh,  had  he  not  had 
ocular  proof  of  his  extreme  abstemiousness. 

"Miserable?"  said  he,  one  night  in  one  of 
these  fits.  "  And  have  I  not  a  right  to  be  miser- 
able ?  —  Why  should  I  not  curse  the  virgin  and 
all  the  saints,  and  die?  I  have  not  a  friend,  not 
a  ducat  on  earth ;  not  even  a  sword  —  hell  and 
the  furies !  It  was  my  all :  the  only  bequest  I 
ever  had  from  my  father,  and  I  lived  by  it  and 
earned  by  it.  Two  years  ago  I  had  as  pretty  a 
sum  of  gold  as  cavalier  could  wish  —  and  now !  "  — 

"  What  is  become  of  it,  then  ?  I  cannot  hear 
that  our  men  plundered  you  of  any." 

"Your  men?  No,  seflor!  What  fifty  men 
dared  not  have  done,  one  woman  did!  a  painted, 
patched,  fucused,  periwigged,  bolstered,  Charyb- 
dis,  cannibal,  Megaera,  Lamia!  Why  did  I  ever 
go  near  that  cursed  Naples,  the  common  sewer  of 
Europe?  whose  women,  I  believe,  would  be  swal- 
lowed up  by  Vesuvius  to-morrow,  if  it  were  not 
that  Belphegor  is  afraid  of  their  making  the  pit 
itself  too  hot  to  hold  him.  Well,  sir,  she  had  all 
of  mine  and  more;  and  when  all  was  gone  in 
wine  and  dice,  woodcocks'  brains  and  ortolans'- 
tongues,  I  met  the  witch  walking  with  another 
man.  I  had  a  sword  and  a  dagger;  I  gave  him 
the  first  (though  the  dog  fought  well  enough,  to 


3 1 6  Westward  Ho  ! 

give  him  his  due),  and  her  the  second;  left  them 
lying  across  each  other,  and  fled  for  my  life,  — 
and  here  I  am !  after  twenty  years  of  fighting, 
from  the  Levant  to  the  Orellana  —  for  I  began 
ere  I  had  a  hair  on  my  chin  —  and  this  is  the 
end !  —  No,  it  is  not !  I  '11  have  that  El  Dorado 
yet !  the  Adelantado  made  Berreo,  when  he  gave 
him  his  daughter,  swear  that  he  would  hunt  for 
it,  through  life  and  death.  —  We  '11  see  who  finds 
it  first,  he  or  I.  He's  a  bungler;  Orsua  was  a 
bungler  —  Pooh!  Cortes  and  Pizarro?  we'll  see 
whether  there  are  not  as  good  Castilians  as  they 
left  still.  I  can  do  it,  senor.  I  know  a  track,  a 
plan;  over  the  Llanos  is  the  road;  and  I'll  be 
Emperor  of  Manoa  yet  —  possess  the  jewels  of  all 
the  Incas ;  and  gold,  gold  !  Pizarro  was  a  beggar 
to  what  I  will  be  ! " 

"Conceive,  sir,"  he  broke  forth  during  another 
of  these  peacock  fits,  as  Amyas  and  he  were  rid- 
ing along  the  hill-side;  "conceive!  with  forty 
chosen  cavaliers  (what  need  of  more?)  I  present 
myself  before  the  golden  king,  trembling  amid 
his  myriad  guards  at  the  new  miracle  of  the 
mailed  centaurs  of  the  West;  and  without  dis- 
mounting, I  approach  his  throne,  lift  the  crucifix 
which  hangs  around  my  neck,  and  pressing  it  to 
my  lips,  present  it  for  the  adoration  of  the 
idolater,  and  give  him  his  alternative;  that  which 
Gayferos  and  the  Cid,  my  ancestors,  offered  the 
Soldan  and  the  Moor  —  baptism  or  death  !  He 
hesitates;  perhaps  smiles  scornfully  upon  my 
little  band;  I  answer  him  by  deeds,  as  Don 
Ferdinando,  my  illustrious  grandfather,  answered 
Atahuallpa  at  Peru,  in  sight  of  all  his  court  and 
camp. " 


How  Amyas  Kept  Christmas  Day    317 

"With  your  lance-point,  as  Gayferos  did  the 
Soldan  ?  "  asked  Amyas,  amused. 

"No,  sir;  persuasion  first,  for  the  salvation  of 
a  soul  is  at  stake.  Not  with  the  lance- point,  but 
the  spur,  sir,  thus  ! "  — 

And  striking  his  heels  into  his  horse's  flanks, 
he  darted  off  at  full  speed. 

"  The  Spanish  traitor  !  "  shouted  Yeo.  "  He 's 
going  to  escape!  Shall  we  shoot,  sir?  Shall  we 
shoot?" 

"For  Heaven's  sake,  no!"  said  Amyas,  look- 
ing somewhat  blank,  nevertheless,  for  he  much 
doubted  whether  the  whole  was  not  a  ruse  on  the 
part  of  the  Spaniard,  and  he  knew  how  impossible 
it  was  for  his  fifteen  stone  of  flesh  to  give  chase 
to  the  Spaniard's  twelve.  But  he  was  soon  reas- 
sured ;  the  Spaniard  wheeled  round  towards  him, 
and  began  to  put  the  rough  hackney  through  all 
the  paces  of  the  manege  with  a  grace  and  skill 
which  won  applause  from  the  beholders. 

"  Thus ! "  he  shouted,  waving  his  hand  to 
Amyas,  between  his  curvets  and  caracoles,  "did 
my  illustrious  grandfather  exhibit  to  the  Paynim 
emperor  the  prowess  of  a  Castilian  cavalier! 
Thus  !  —  and  thus  !  —  and  thus,  at  last,  he  dashed 
up  to  his  very  feet,  as  I  to  yours,  and  bespatter- 
ing that  unbaptized  visage  with  his  Christian 
bridle  foam,  pulled  up  his  charger  on  his 
haunches,  thus ! " 

And  (as  was  to  be  expected  from  a  blown  Irish 
garron  on  a  peaty  Irish  hill-side)  down  went  the 
hapless  hackney  on  his  tail,  away  went  his  heels 
a  yard  in  front  of  him,  and  ere  Don  Guzman 
could  "avoid  his  selle,"  horse  and  man  rolled 
over  into  a  neighboring  bog-hole. 


3i 8  Westward  Ho! 

"After  pride  comes  a  fall,"  quoth  Yeo  with 
unmoved  visage,  as  he  lugged  him  out. 

"  And  what  would  you  do  with  the  emperor  at 
last  ? "  asked  Amyas  when  the  Don  had  been 
scrubbed  somewhat  clean  with  a  bunch  of  rushes. 
"Kill  him,  as  your  grandfather  did  Atahuallpa?" 

"My  grandfather,"  answered  the  Spaniard,  in- 
dignantly, "was  one  of  those  who,  to  their  eternal 
honor,  protested  to  the  last  against  that  most 
cruel  and  unknightly  massacre.  He  could  be 
terrible  to  the  heathen;  but  he  kept  his  plighted 
word,  sir,  and  taught  me  to  keep  mine,  as  you 
have  seen  to-day." 

"I  have,  sefior,"  said  Amyas.  "You  might 
have  given  us  the  slip  easily  enough  just  now, 
and  did  not.  Pardon  me,  if  I  have  offended 
you." 

The  Spaniard  (who,  after  all,  was  cross  prin- 
cipally with  himself  and  the  "unlucky  mare's 
son,"  as  the  old  romances  have  it,  which  had 
played  him  so  scurvy  a  trick)  was  all  smiles  again 
forthwith;  and  Amyas,  as  they  chatted  on,  could 
not  help  asking  him  next  — 

"I  wonder  why  you  are  so  frank  about  your 
own  intentions  to  an  enemy  like  me,  who  will 
surely  forestall  you  if  he  can." 

"Sir,  a  Spaniard  needs  no  concealment,  and 
fears  no  rivalry.  He  is  the  soldier  of  the  Cross, 
and  in  it  he  conquers,  like  Constantine  of  old. 
Not  that  you  English  are  not  very  heroes;  but 
you  have  not,  sir,  and  you  cannot  have,  who  have 
forsworn  our  Lady  and  the  choir  of  saints,  the 
same  divine  protection,  the  same  celestial  mis- 
sion, which  enables  the  Catholic  cavalier  single- 
handed  to  chase  a  thousand  Paynims.'1 


How  Amyas  Kept  Christmas  Day    319 

And  Don  Guzman  crossed  himself  devoutly, 
and  muttered  half-a-dozen  Ave  Marias  in  succes- 
sion, while  Amyas  rode  silently  by  his  side, 
utterly  puzzled  at  this  strange  compound  of 
shrewdness  with  fanaticism,  of  perfect  high- 
breeding  with  a  boastfulness  which  in  an  Eng- 
lishman would  have  been  the  sure  mark  of 
vulgarity. 

At  last  came  a  letter  from  Sir  Richard  Grenville, 
complimenting  Amyas  on  his  success  and  promo- 
tion, bearing  a  long  and  courtly  message  to  Don 
Guzman  (whom  Grenville  had  known  when  he  was 
in  the  Mediterranean,  at  the  battle  of  Lepanto), 
and  offering  to  receive  him  as  his  own  guest  at 
Bideford,  till  his  ransom  should  arrive;  a  propo- 
sition which  the  Spaniard  (who  of  course  was 
getting  sufficiently  tired  of  the  Irish  bogs)  could 
not  but  gladly  accept;  and  one  of  Winter's  ships, 
returning  to  England  in  the  spring  of  1581, 
delivered  duly  at  the  quay  of  Bideford  the  body 
of  Don  Guzman  Maria  Magdalena.  Raleigh, 
after  forming  for  that  summer  one  of  the  trium- 
virate by  which  Munster  was  governed  after 
Ormond's  departure,  at  last  got  his  wish  and 
departed  for  England  and  the  Court ;  and  Amyas 
was  left  alone  with  the  snipes  and  yellow  mantles 
for  two  more  weary  years. 


CHAPTER   X 

HOW    THE     MAYOR     OF     BIDEFORD     BAITED     HIS 
HOOK  WITH   HIS   OWN   FLESH 

"  And  therewith  he  blent,  and  cried  ha ! 
As  though  he  had  been  stricken  to  the  harte." 

Palamon  and  Arcite, 

SO  it  befell  to  Chaucer's  knight  in  prison;  and 
so  it  befell  also  to  Don  Guzman;  and  it 
befell  on  this  wise. 

He  settled  down  quietly  enough  at  Bideford  on 
his  parole,  in  better  quarters  than  he  had  occu- 
pied for  many  a  day,  and  took  things  as  they 
came,  like  a  true  soldier  of  fortune;  till,  after  he 
had  been  with  Grenville  hardly  a  month,  old  Sal- 
terne  the  Mayor  came  to  supper. 

Now  Don  Guzman,  however  much  he  might 
be  puzzled  at  first  at  our  strange  English  ways  of 
asking  burghers  and  such  low-bred  folk  to  eat 
and  drink  above  the  salt,  in  the  company  of 
noble  persons,  was  quite  gentleman  enough  to 
know  that  Richard  Grenville  was  gentleman 
enough  to  do  only  what  was  correct,  and  accord- 
ing to  the  customs  and  proprieties.  So  after 
shrugging  the  shoulders  of  his  spirit,  he  sub- 
mitted to  eat  and  drink  at  the  same  board  with  a 
tradesman  who  sat  at  a  desk,  and  made  up  ledgers, 
and  took  apprentices ;  and  hearing  him  talk  with 
Grenville  neither  unwisely  nor  in  a  vulgar  fashion, 


How  Mr.  Salterne  Baited  his  Hook     321 

actually  before  the  evening  was  out  condescended 
to  exchange  words  with  him  himself.  Whereon 
he  found  him  a  very  prudent  and  courteous  per- 
son, quite  aware  of  the  Spaniard's  superior  rank, 
and  making  him  feel  in  every  sentence  that  he 
was  aware  thereof;  and  yet  holding  his  own 
opinion,  and  asserting  his  own  rights  as  a  wise 
elder  in  a  fashion  which  the  Spaniard  had  only 
seen  before  among  the  merchant  princes  of  Genoa 
and  Venice. 

At  the  end  of  supper,  Salteine  asked  Grenville 
to  do  his  humble  roof  the  honor,  etc.  etc.,  of 
supping  with  him  the  next  evening,  and  then 
turning  to  the  Don,  said  quite  frankly,  that  he 
knew  how  great  a  condescension  it  would  be  on 
the  part  of  a  nobleman  of  Spain  to  sit  at  the 
board  of  a  simple  merchant:  but  that  if  the 
Spaniard  deigned  to  do  him  such  a  favor,  he 
would  find  that  the  cheer  was  fit  enough  for  any 
rank,  whatsoever  the  company  might  be;  which 
invitation  Don  Guzman,  being  on  the  whole  glad 
enough  of  anything  to  amuse  him,  graciously 
condescended  to  accept,  and  gained  thereby  an 
excellent  supper,  and,  if  he  had  chosen  to  drink 
it,  much  good  wine. 

Now  Mr.  Salterne  was,  of  course,  as  a  wise 
merchant,  as  ready  as  any  man  for  an  adventure 
to  foreign  parts,  as  was  afterwards  proved  by  his 
great  exertions  m  the  settlement  of  Virginia ;  and 
he  was,  therefore,  equally  ready  to  rack  the 
brains  of  any  guest  whom  he  suspected  of  know- 
ing anything  concerning  strange  lands;  and  so 
he  thought  no  shame,  first  to  try  to  loose  his 
guest's  tongue  by  much  good  sack,  and  next,  to 
ask  him  prudent  and  well-concocted  questions 


322  Westward  Ho ! 

concerning  the  Spanish  Main,  Peru,  the  Moluc- 
cas, China,  the  Indies,  and  all  parts. 

The  first  of  which  schemes  failed;  for  the 
Spaniard  was  as  abstemious  as  any  monk,  and 
drank  little  but  water;  the  second  succeeded  not 
over  well,  for  the  Spaniard  was  as  cunning  as  any 
fox,  and  answered  little  but  wind. 

In  the  midst  of  which  tongue-fence  in  came 
the  Rose  of  Torridge,  looking  as  beautiful  as 
usual ;  and  hearing  what  they  were  upon,  added, 
artlessly  enough,  her  questions  to  her  father's: 
to  her  Don  Guzman  could  not  but  answer;  and 
without  revealing  any  very  important  commercial 
secrets,  gave  his  host  and  his  host's  daughter  a 
very  amusing  evening. 

Now  little  Eros,  though  spirits  like  Frank 
Leigh's  may  choose  to  call  him  (as,  perhaps,  he 
really  is  to  them)  the  eldest  of  the  gods,  and  the 
son  of  Jove  and  Venus,  yet  is  reported  by  other 
equally  good  authorities,  as  Burton  has  set  forth 
in  his  "Anatomy  of  Melancholy,"  to  be  after  all 
only  the  child  of  idleness  and  fulness  of  bread. 
To  which  scandalous  calumny  the  thoughts  of 
Don  Guzman's  heart  gave  at  least  a  certain  color; 
for  he  being  idle  (as  captives  needs  must  be),  and 
also  full  of  bread  (for  Sir  Richard  kept  a  very 
good  table),  had  already  looked  round  for  mere 
amusenent's  sake  after  some  one  with  whom  to 
fall  in  love.  Lady  Grenville,  as  nearest,  was,  I 
blush  to  say,  thought  of  first;  but  the  Spaniard 
was  a  man  of  honor,  and  Sir  Richard  his  host; 
so  he  put  away  from  his  mind  (with  a  self-denial 
on  which  he  plumed  himself  much)  the  pleasure 
of  a  chase  equally  exciting  to  his  pride  and  his 
love  of  danger.  As  for  the  sinfulness  of  the  said 


How  Mr.  Salterne  Baited  his  Hook     323 

chase,  he  of  course  thought  no  more  of  that  than 
other  Southern  Europeans  did  then,  or  than  (I 
blush  again  to  have  to  say  it)  the  English  did 
afterwards  in  the  days  of  the  Stuarts.  Neverthe- 
less, he  had  put  Lady  Grenville  out  of  his  mind; 
and  so  left  room  to  take  Rose  Salterne  into  it, 
not  with  any  distinct  purpose  of  wronging  her: 
but,  as  I  said  before,  half  to  amuse  himself,  and 
half,  too,  because  he  could  not  help  it.  For 
there  was  an  innocent  freshness  about  the  Rose 
of  Torridge,  fond  as  she  was  of  being  admired, 
which  was  new  to  him  and  most  attractive.  "  The 
train  of  the  peacock,"  as  he  said  to  himself,  "and 
yet  the  'heart  of  the  dove,"  made  so  charming  a 
combination,  that  if  he  could  have  persuaded  her 
to  love  no  one  but  him,  perhaps  he  might  become 
fool  enough  to  love  no  one  but  her.  And  at  that 
thought  he  was  seized  with  a  very  panic  of  pru- 
dence, and  resolved  to  keep  out  of  her  way ;  and 
yet  the  days  ran  slowly,  and  Lady  Grenville  when 
at  home  was  stupid  enough  to  talk  and  think 
about  nothing  but  her  husband;  and  when  she 
went  to  Stow,  and  left  the  Don  alone  in  one 
corner  of  the  great  house  at  Bideford,  what  could 
he  do  but  lounge  down  to  the  butt-gardens  to 
show  off  his  fine  black  cloak  and  fine  black 
feather,  see  the  shooting,  have  a  game  or  two  of 
rackets  with  the  youngsters,  a  game  or  two  of 
bowls  with  the  elders,  and  get  himself  invited 
home  to  supper  by  Mr.  Salterne? 

And  there,  of  course,  he  had  it  all  his  own 
way,  and  ruled  the  roast  (which  he  was  fond 
enough  of  doing)  right  royally,  not  only  on 
account  of  his  rank,  but  because  he  had  some- 
thing to  say  worth  hearing,  as  a  travelled  man. 


324  Westward  Ho  I 

For  those  times  were  the  day-dawn  of  English 
commerce ;  and  not  a  merchant  in  Bideford,  or  in 
all  England,  but  had  his  imagination  all  on  fire 
with  projects  of  discoveries,  companies,  privi- 
leges, patents,  and  settlements;  with  gallant 
rivalry  of  the  brave  adventures  of  Sir  Edward 
Osborne  and  his  new  London  Company  of  Turkey 
Merchants;  with  the  privileges  just  granted  by 
the  Sultan  Murad  Khan  to  the  English ;  with  the 
worthy  Levant  voyages  of  Roger  Bodenham  in 
the  great  bark  Aucher,  and  of  John  Fox,  and 
Lawrence  Aldersey,  and  John  Rule;  and  with 
hopes  from  the  vast  door  for  Mediterranean  trade, 
which  the  crushing  of  the  Venetian  power  at 
Famagusta  in  Cyprus,  and  the  alliance  made 
between  Elizabeth  and  the  Grand  Turk,  had  just 
thrown  open.  So  not  a  word  could  fall  from  the 
Spaniard  about  the  Mediterranean  but  took  root 
at  once  in  right  fertile  soil.  Besides,  Master 
Edmund  Hogan  had  been  on  a  successful  embassy 
to  the  Emperor  of  Morocco;  John  Hawkins  and 
George  Fenner  had  been  to  Guinea  (and  with  the 
latter  Mr.  Walter  Wren,  a  Bideford  man),  and 
had  traded  there  for  musk  and  civet,  gold  and 
grain ;  and  African  news  was  becoming  almost  as 
valuable  as  West  Indian.  Moreover,  but  two 
months  before  had  gone  from  London  Captain 
Hare  in  the  bark  Minion,  for  Brazil,  and  a  com- 
pany of  adventurers  with  him,  with  Sheffield  hard- 
ware, and  "Devonshire  and  Northern  kersies," 
hollands  and  "Manchester  cottons,"  for  there 
was  a  great  opening  for  English  goods  by  the 
help  of  one  John  Whithall,  who  had  married  a 
Spanish  heiress,  and  had  an  ingenio  and  slaves 
in  Santos.  (Don't  smile,  reader,  or  despise  the 


How  Mr.  Salterne  Baited  his  Hook     325 

day  of  small  things,  and  those  who  sowed  the  seed 
whereof  you  reap  the  mighty  harvest.)  In  the 
meanwhile,  Drake  had  proved  not  merely  the 
possibility  of  plundering  the  American  coasts, 
but  of  establishing  an  East  Indian  trade;  Fro- 
bisher  and  Davis,  worthy  forefathers  of  our 
Parrys  and  Franklins,  had  begun  to  bore  their 
way  upward  through  the  Northern  ice,  in  search 
of  a  passage  to  China  which  should  avoid  the 
dangers  of  the  Spanish  seas;  and  Anthony  Jen- 
kinson,  not  the  least  of  English  travellers,  had, 
in  six-and-twenty  years  of  travel  in  behalf  of  the 
Muscovite  Company,  penetrated  into  not  merely 
Russia  and  the  Levant,  but  Persia  and  Armenia, 
Bokhara,  Tartary,  Siberia,  and  those  waste  Arctic 
shores  where,  thirty  years  before,  the  brave  Sir 
Hugh  Willoughby, 

"In  Arzina  caught, 
Perished  with  all  his  crew." 

Everywhere  English  commerce,  under  the  genial 
sunshine  of  Elizabeth's  wise  rule,  was  spreading 
and  taking  root ;  and  as  Don  Guzman  talked  with 
his  new  friends,  he  soon  saw  (for  he  was  shrewd 
enough)  that  they  belonged  to  a  race  which  must 
be  exterminated  if  Spain  intended  to  become  (as 
she  did  intend)  the  mistress  of  the  world;  and 
that  it  was  not  enough  for  Spain  to  have  seized 
in  the  Pope's  name  the  whole  new  world,  and 
claimed  the  exclusive  right  to  sail  the  seas  of 
America;  not  enough  to  have  crushed  the  Hol- 
landers ;  not  enough  to  have  degraded  the  Vene- 
tians into  her  bankers,  and  the  Genoese  into  her 
mercenaries;  not  enough  to  have  incorporated 
into  herself,  with  the  kingdom  of  Portugal,  the 


326  Westward  Ho  f 

whole  East  Indian  trade  of  Portugal,  while  these 
fierce  islanders  remained  to  assert,  with  cunning 
policy  and  texts  of  Scripture,  and,  if  they  failed, 
with  sharp  shot  and  cold  steel,  free  seas  and  free 
trade  for  all  the  nations  upon  earth.  He  saw  it, 
and  his  countrymen  saw  it  too :  and  therefore  the 
Spanish  Armada  came:  but  of  that  hereafter. 
And  Don  Guzman  knew  also,  by  hard  experience, 
that  these  same  islanders,  who  sat  in  Salterne's 
parlor,  talking  broad  Devon  through  their  noses, 
were  no  mere  counters  of  money  and  hucksters  of 
goods:  but  men  who,  though  they  thoroughly 
hated  fighting,  and  loved  making  money  instead, 
could  fight,  upon  occasion,  after  a  very  dogged 
and  terrible  fashion,  as  well  as  the  bluest  blood 
in  Spain;  and  who  sent  out  their  merchant  ships 
armed  up  to  the  teeth,  and  filled  with  men  who 
had  been  trained  from  childhood  to  use  those 
arms,  and  had  orders  to  use  them  without  mercy 
if  either  Spaniard,  Portugal,  or  other  created 
being  dared  to  stop  their  money-making.  And 
one  evening  he  waxed  quite  mad,  when,  after 
having  civilly  enough  hinted  that  if  Englishmen 
came  where  they  had  no  right  to  come,  they 
might  find  themselves  sent  back  again,  he  was 
answered  by  a  volley  of  — 

"We '11  see  that,  sir." 

"  Depends  on  who  says  '  No  right. ' ' 

"You  found  might  right,"  said  another,  "when 
you  claimed  the  Indian  seas;  we  may  find  right 
might  when  we  try  them." 

"Try  them,  then,  gentlemen,  by  all  means,  if 
it  shall  so  please  your  worships;  and  find  the 
sacred  flag  of  Spain  as  invincible  as  ever  was  the 
Roman  eagle." 


How  Mr.  Salterne  Baited  his  Hook     327 

"  We  have,  sir.  Did  you  ever  hear  of  Francis 
Drake  ? " 

"  Or  of  George  Fenner  and  the  Portugals  at  the 
Azores,  one  against  seven  ?  " 

"Or  of  John  Hawkins,  at  St.  Juan  d'Ulloa?" 

"You  are  insolent  burghers,"  said  Don  Guz- 
man, and  rose  to  go. 

"Sir,"  said  old  Salterne,  "as  you  say,  we  are 
burghers  and  plain  men,  and  some  of  us  have 
forgotten  ourselves  a  little,  perhaps;  we  must 
beg  you  to  forgive  our  want  of  manners,  and  to 
put  it  down  to  the  strength  of  my  wine;  for  inso- 
lent we  never  meant  to  be,  especially  to  a  noble 
gentleman  and  a  foreigner." 

But  the  Don  would  not  be  pacified ;  and  walked 
out,  calling  himself  an  ass  and  a  blinkard  for 
having  demeaned  himself  to  such  a  company,  for- 
getting that  he  had  brought  it  on  himself. 

Salterne  (prompted  by  the  great  devil  Mam- 
mon) came  up  to  him  next  day,  and  begged 
pardon  again;  promising,  moreover,  that  none  of 
those  who  had  been  so  rude  should  be  henceforth 
asked  to  meet  him,  if  he  would  deign  to  honor 
his  house  once  more.  And  the  Don  actually 
was  appeased,  and  went  there  the  very  next 
evening,  sneering  at  himself  the  whole  time  for 
going. 

"  Fool  that  I  am !  that  girl  has  bewitched  me, 
I  believe.  Go  I  must,  and  eat  my  share  of  dirt, 
for  her  sake." 

So  he  went ;  and,  cunningly  enough,  hinted  to 
old  Salterne  that  he  had  taken  such  a  fancy  to 
him,  and  felt  so  bound  by  his  courtesy  and  hospi- 
tality, that  he  might  not  object  to  tell  him  things 
which  he  would  not  mention  to  every  one;  for 


328  Westward  Ho! 

that  the  Spaniards  were  not  jealous  of  single 
traders,  but  of  any  general  attempt  to  deprive 
them  of  their  hard-earned  wealth :  that,  however, 
in  the  meanwhile,  there  were  plenty  of  opportuni- 
ties for  one  man  here  and  there  to  enrich  him- 
self, etc. 

Old  Salterne,  shrewd  as  he  was,  had  his  weak 
point,    and   the    Spaniard   had   touched    it;    and 
delighted   at   this    opportunity   of    learning    the 
mysteries   of  the   Spanish    monopoly,    he    often 
actually  set  Rose  on  to  draw  out  the  Don,  with- 
out a  fear  (so  blind  does  money  make  men)   lest 
she   might   be   herself  drawn  in.     For,   first,    he 
held   it   as    impossible  that    she  would  think  of 
marrying  a  Popish  Spaniard  as  of  marrying  the 
man  in  the  moon;  and,  next,   as  impossible  that 
he  would  think  of  marrying  a  burgher's  daughter 
as   of   marrying  a  negress;  and  trusted  that  the 
religion  of  the  one,  and  the  family  pride  of  the 
other,  would  keep  them  as  separate  as  beings  of 
two  different  species.     And  as  for  love  without 
marriage,  if  such  a  possibility  ever  crossed  him, 
the  thought  was  rendered  absurd;  on  Rose's  part 
by  her  virtue,  on  which  the  old  man  (and  rightly) 
would   have   staked   every  farthing    he    had    on 
earth ;  and  on  the  Don's  part,  by  a  certain  human 
fondness  for  the  continuity  of  the  carotid  artery 
and  the  parts  adjoining,  for  which  (and  that  not 
altogether  justly,  seeing  that  Don  Guzman  cared 
as  little  for  his  o>  rn  life  as  he  did  for  his  neigh- 
bor's)  Mr.  Salterne  gave  him  credit.     And  so  it 
came  to  pass,  that  for  weeks  and  months  the  mer- 
chant's house  was  the  Don's  favorite  haunt,  and 
he  saw  the  Rose  of  Torridge  daily,  and  the  Rose 
of  Torridge  heard  him. 


How  Mr.  Salterne  Baited  his  Hook     329 

And  as  for  her,  poor  child,  she  had  never  seen 
such  a  man.  He  had,  or  seemed  to  have,  all  the 
high-bred  grace  of  Frank,  and  yet  he  was  cast  in 
a  manlier  mould;  he  had  just  enough  of  his 
nation's  proud  self-assertion  to  make  a  woman 
bow  before  him  as  before  a  superior,  and  yet  tact 
enough  to  let  it  very  seldom  degenerate  into  that 
boastfulness  of  which  the  Spaniards  were  then  so 
often  and  so  justly  accused.  He  had  marvels  to 
tell  by  flood  and  field  as  many  and  more  than 
Amyas;  and  he  told  them  with  a  grace  and  an 
eloquence  of  which  modest,  simple,  old  Amyas 
possessed  nothing.  Besides,  he  was  on  the  spot, 
and  the  Leighs  were  not,  nor  indeed  were  any 
of  her  old  lovers;  and  what  could  she  do  but 
amuse  herself  with  the  only  person  who  came  to 
hand? 

So  thought,  in  time,  more  ladies  than  she;  for 
the  country,  the  north  of  it  at  least,  was  all  but 
bare  just  then  of  young  gallants,  what  with  the 
Nether  land  wars  and  the  Irish  wars;  and  the 
Spaniard  became  soon  welcome  at  every  house  for 
many  a  mile  round,  and  made  use  of  his  welcome 
so  freely,  and  received  so  much  unwonted  atten- 
tion from  fair  young  dames,  that  his  head  might 
have  been  a  little  turned,  and  Rose  Salterne  have 
thereby  escaped,  had  not  Sir  Richard  delicately 
given  him  to  understand  that  in  spite  of  the  free 
and  easy  manners  of  English  ladies,  brothers 
were  just  as  jealous,  and  ladies'  honors  at  least 
as  inexpugnable,  as  in  the  land  of  demureness 
and  duennas.  Don  Guzman  took  the  hint  well 
enough,  and  kept  on  good  terms  with  the  country 
gentlemen  as  with  their  daughters ;  and  to  tell 
the  truth,  the  cunning  soldier  of  fortune  found 

Vol.  8—15 


330  Westward  Ho ! 

his  account  in  being  intimate  with  all  the  ladies 
he  could,  in  order  to  prevent  old  Salterne  from 
fancying  that  he  had  any  peculiar  predilection 
for  Mistress  Rose. 

Nevertheless,  Mr.  Salterne' s  parlor  being 
nearest  to  him,  still  remained  his  most  common 
haunt;  where,  while  he  discoursed  for  hours 
about 

"  Antres  vast  and  deserts  idle, 
And  of  the  cannibals  that  each  other  eat, 
Of  Anthropophagi,  and  men  whose  heads 
Do  grow  beneath  their  shoulders," 

to  the  boundless  satisfaction  of  poor  Rose's  fancy, 
he  took  care  to  season  his  discourse  with  scraps 
of  mercantile  information,  which  kept  the  old 
merchant  always  expectant  and  hankering  for 
more,  and  made  it  worth  his  while  to  ask  the 
Spaniard  in  again  and  again. 

And  his  stories,  certainly,  were  worth  hearing. 
He  seemed  to  have  been  everywhere,  and  to  have 
seen  everything :  born  in  Peru,  and  sent  home  to 
Spain  at  ten  years  old;  brought  up  in  Italy;  a 
soldier  in  the  Levant;  an  adventurer  to  the  East 
Indies;  again  in  America,  first  in  the  islands, 
and  then  in  Mexico.  Then  back  again  to  Spain, 
and  thence  to  Rome,  and  thence  to  Ireland.  Ship- 
wrecked; captive  among  savages;  looking  down 
the  craters  of  volcanoes;  hanging  about  all  the 
courts  of  Europe;  fighting  Turks,  Indians,  lions, 
elephants,  alligators,  and  what  not?  At  five-and- 
thirty  he  had  seen  enough  for  three  lives,  and 
knew  how  to  make  the  best  of  what  he  had 
seen. 

He  had  shared,  as  a  lad,  in  the  horrors  of  the 
memorable  siege  of  Famagusta,  and  had  escaped, 


How  Mr.  Salterne  Baited  his  Hook     331 

he  hardly  knew  himself  how,  from  the  hands  of 
the  victorious  Turks,  and  from  the  certainty  (if 
he  escaped  being  flayed  alive  or  impaled,  as  most 
of  the  captive  officers  were)  of  ending  his  life  as 
a  Janissary  at  the  Sultan's  court.  He  had  been 
at  the  Battle  of  the  Three  Kings;  had  seen 
Stukely  borne  down  by  a  hundred  lances,  uncon- 
quered  even  in  death;  and  had  held  upon  his 
knee  the  head  of  the  dying  King  of  Portugal. 

And  now,  as  he  said  to  Rose  one  evening, 
what  had  he  left  on  earth,  but  a  heart  trampled 
as  hard  as  the  pavement  ?  Whom  had  he  to  love? 
Who  loved  him  ?  He  had  nothing  for  which  to 
live  but  fame :  and  even  that  was  denied  to  him, 
a  prisoner  in  a  foreign  land. 

Had  he  no  kindred,  then  ?  asked  pitying  Rose. 

"My  two  sisters  are  in  a  convent;  —  they  had 
neither  money  nor  beauty;  so  they  are  dead  to 
me.  My  brother  is  a  Jesuit,  so  he  is  dead  to  me. 
My  father  fell  by  the  hands  of  Indians  in  Mexico ; 
my  mother,  a  penniless  widow,  is  companion, 
duenna  —  whatsoever  they  may  choose  to  call  it 
—  carrying  fans  and  lapdogs  for  some  princess  or 
other  there  in  Seville,  of  no  better  blood  than 
herself ;  and  I  —  devil !  I  have  lost  even  my 
sword  —  and  so  fares  the  house  of  De  Soto. " 

Don  Guzman,  of  course,  intended  to  be  pitied, 
and  pitied  he  was  accordingly.  And  then  he 
would  turn  the  conversation,  and  begin  telling 
Italian  stories,  after  the  Italian  fashion,  accord- 
ing to  his  auditory :  the  pathetic  ones  when  Rose 
was  present,  the  racy  ones  when  she  was  absent ; 
so  that  Rose  had  wept  over  the  sorrows  of  Juliet 
and  Desdemona,  and  over  many  another  moving 
tale,  long  before  they  were  ever  enacted  on  an 


332  Westward  Hoi 

English  stage,  and  the  ribs  of  the  Bideford 
worthies  had  shaken  to  many  a  jest  which  Cinthio 
and  Bandello's  ghosts  must  come  and  make  for 
themselves  over  again  if  they  wish  them  to  be 
remembered,  for  I  shall  lend  them  no  shove 
toward  immortality. 

And  so  on,  and  so  on.  What  need  of  more 
words?  Before  a  year  was  out,  Rose  Salterne 
was  far  more  in  love  with  Don  Guzman  than  he 
with  her;  and  both  suspected  each  other's  mind, 
though  neither  hinted  at  the  truth  ;  she  from  fear, 
and  he,  to  tell  the  truth,  from  sheer  Spanish 
pride  of  blood.  For  he  soon  began  to  find  out 
that  he  must  compromise  that  blood  by  marrying 
the  heretic  burgher's  daughter,  or  all  his  labor 
would  be  thrown  away. 

He  had  seen  with  much  astonishment,  and  then 
practised  with  much  pleasure,  that  graceful  old 
English  fashion  of  saluting  every  lady  on  the 
cheek  at  meeting,  which  (like  the  old  Dutch 
fashion  of  asking  young  ladies  out  to  feasts  with- 
out their  mothers)  used  to  give  such  cause  of 
brutal  calumny  and  scandal  to  the  coarse  minds 
of  Romish  visitors  from  the  Continent;  and  he 
had  seen,  too,  fuming  with  jealous  rage,  more 
than  one  Bideford  burgher,  redolent  of  onions, 
profane  in  that  way  the  velvet  cheek  of  Rose 
Salterne. 

So,  one  day,  he  offered  his  salute  in  like  wise; 
but  he  did  it  when  she  was  alone ;  for  something 
within  (perhaps  a  guilty  conscience)  whispered 
that  it  might  be  hardly  politic  to  make  the  prof- 
fer in  her  father's  presence:  however,  to  his 
astonishment,  he  received  a  prompt  though  quiet 
rebuff. 


How  Mr.  Salterne  Baited  his  Hook     333 

"No,  sir;  you  should  know  that  my  cheek  is 
not  for  you." 

"Why,"  said  he,  stifling  his  anger,  "it  seems 
free  enough  to  every  counter-jumper  in  the 
town ! " 

Was  it  love,  or  simple  innocence,  which  made 
her  answer  apologetically? 

"  True,  Don  Guzman ;  but  they  are  my  equals. " 

"And  I?" 

"You  are  a  nobleman,  sir;  and  should  recol- 
lect that  you  are  one." 

"Well,"  said  he,  forcing  a  sneer,  "it  is  a 
strange  taste  to  prefer  the  shopkeeper ! " 

"Prefer?"  said  she,  forcing  a  laugh  in  her 
turn;  "it  is  a  mere  form  among  us.  They  are 
nothing  to  me,  I  can  tell  you." 

"And  I,  then,  less  than  nothing?" 

Rose  turned  very  red;  but  she  had  nerve  to 
answer  — 

"And  why  should  you  be  anything  to  me? 
You  have  condescended  too  much,  sir,  already  to 
us,  in  giving  us  many  a  —  many  a  pleasant  even- 
ing. You  must  condescend  no  further.  You 
wrong  yourself,  sir,  and  me  too.  No,  sir;  not  a 
step  nearer!  —  I  will  not!  A  salute  between 
equals  means  nothing :  but  between  you  and  me 
—  I  vow,  sir,  if  you  do  not  leave  me  this  moment, 
I  will  complain  to  my  father." 

"Do  so,  madam!  I  care  as  little  for  your 
father's  anger,  as  you  for  my  misery." 

"Cruel!"  cried  Rose,  trembling  from  head  to 
foot. 

"  I  love  you,  madam ! "  cried  he,  throwing 
hirtfself  at  her  feet.  "  I  adore  you !  Never  men- 
tion differences  of  rank  to  me  more;  for  I  have 


334  Westward  Ho ! 

forgotten  them;  forgotten  all  but  love,  all  but 
you,  madam !  My  light,  my  lodestar,  my  prin- 
cess, my  goddess !  You  see  where  my  pride  is 
gone ;  remember  I  plead  as  a  suppliant,  a  beggar 
—  though  one  who  may  be  one  day  a  prince,  a 
king !  ay,  and  a  prince  now,  a  very  Lucifer  of 
pride  to  all  except  to  you ;  to  you  a  wretch  who 
grovels  at  your  feet,  and  cries,  '  Have  mercy  on 
me,  on  my  loneliness,  my  homelessness,  my 
friendlessness. '  Ah,  Rose  (madam  I  should 
have  said,  forgive  the  madness  of  my  passion), 
you  know  not  the  heart  which  you  break.  Cold 
Northerns,  you  little  dream  how  a  Spaniard  can 
love.  Love?  Worship,  rather;  as  I  worship 
you,  madam ;  as  I  bless  the  captivity  which 
brought  me  the  sight  of  you,  and  the  ruin  which 
first  made  me  rich.  Is  it  possible,  saints  and 
Virgin !  do  my  own  tears  deceive  my  eyes,  or  are 
there  tears,  too,  in  those  radiant  orbs  ?  " 

"  Go,  sir !  "  cried  poor  Rose,  recovering  herself 
suddenly;  "and  let  me  never  see  you  more." 
And,  as  a  last  chance  for  life,  she  darted  out  of 
the  room. 

"Your  slave  obeys  you,  madam,  and  kisses 
your  hands  and  feet  forever  and  a  day,"  said  the 
cunning  Spaniard,  and  drawing  himself  up,  walked 
serenely  out  of  the  house;  while  she,  poor  fool, 
peeped  after  him  out  of  her  window  upstairs,  and 
her  heart  sank  within  her  as  she  watched  his 
jaunty  and  careless  air. 

How  much  of  that  rhapsody  of  his  was  honest, 
how  much  premeditated,  I  cannot  tell :  though 
she,  poor  child,  began  to  fancy  that  it  was  all  a 
set  speech,  when  she  found  that  he  had  really 
taken  her  at  her  word,  and  set  foot  no  more 


How  Mr.  Salterne  Baited  his  Hook     335 

within  her  father's  house.  So  she  reproached 
herself  for  the  crudest  of  women;  settled,  that 
if  he  died,  she  should  be  his  murderess;  watched 
for  him  to  pass  at  the  window,  in  hopes  that  he 
might  look  up,  and  then  hid  herself  in  terror  the 
moment  he  appeared  round  the  corner;  and  so 
forth,  and  so  forth :  —  one  love-making  is  very 
like  another,  and  has  been  so,  I  suppose,  since 
that  first  blessed  marriage  in  Paradise,  when 
Adam  and  Eve  made  no  love  at  all,  but  found  it 
ready-made  for  them  from  heaven ;  and  really  it 
is  fiddling  while  Rome  is  burning,  to  spend 
more  pages  over  the  sorrows  of  poor  little  Rose 
Salterne,  while  the  destinies  of  Europe  are  hang- 
ing on  the  marriage  between  Elizabeth  and 
Anjou:  and  Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert  is  stirring 
heaven  and  earth,  and  Devonshire,  of  course,  as 
the  most  important  portion  of  the  said  earth,  to 
carry  out  his  dormant  patent,  which  will  give  to 
England  in  due  time  (we  are  not  jesting  now) 
Newfoundland,  Nova  Scotia,  and  Canada,  and 
the  Northern  States;  and  to  Humphrey  Gilbert 
himself  something  better  than  a  new  world, 
namely  another  world,  and  a  crown  of  glory 
therein  which  never  fades  away. 


CHAPTER  XI 

HOW   EUSTACE    LEIGH    MET   THE   POPE'S   LEGATE 

"  Misguided,  rash,  intruding  fool,  farewell  I 
Thou  see'st  to  be  too  busy  is  some  danger." 

Hamlet. 

IT  is  the  spring  of  1582-3.  The  gray  March 
skies  are  curdling  hard  and  high  above  black 
mountain  peaks.  The  keen  March  wind  is  sweep- 
ing harsh  and  dry  across  a  dreary  sheet  of  bog, 
still  red  and  yellow  with  the  stains  of  winter  frost. 
One  brown  knoll  alone  breaks  the  waste,  and  on  it 
a  few  leafless  wind-dipt  oaks  stretch  their  moss- 
grown  arms,  like  giant  hairy  spiders,  above  a 
desolate  pool  which  crisps  and  shivers  in  the  biting 
breeze,  while  from  beside  its  brink  rises  a  mourn- 
ful cry,  and  sweeps  down,  faint  and  fitful,  amid  the 
howling  of  the  wind. 

Along  the  brink  of  the  bog,  picking  their  road 
among  crumbling  rocks  and  green  spongy  springs, 
a  company  of  English  soldiers  are  pushing  fast, 
clad  cap-a-pie  in  helmet  and  quilted  jerkin,  with 
arquebus  on  shoulder,  and  pikes  trailing  behind 
them ;  stern  steadfast  men,  who,  two  years  since, 
were  working  the  guns  at  Smerwick  fort,  and  have 
since  then  seen  many  a  bloody  fray,  and  shall  see 
more  before  they  die.  Two  captains  ride  before 
them  on  shaggy  ponies,  the  taller  in  armor, 
stained  and  rusted  with  many  a  storm  and  fray, 
the  other  in  brilliant  inlaid  cuirass  and  helmet, 


How  Eustace  Met  the  Legate     337 

gaudy  sash  and  plume,  and  sword  hilt  glittering 
with  gold,  a  quaint  contrast  enough  to  the  meager 
garron  which  carries  him  and  his  finery.  Beside 
them,  secured  by  a  cord  which  a  pikeman  has 
fastened  to  his  own  wrist,  trots  a  bare-legged  Irish 
kerne,  whose  only  clothing  is  his  ragged  yellow 
mantle,  and  the  unkempt  "  glib  "  of  hair,  through 
which  his  eyes  peer  out,  right  and  left,  in  mingled 
fear  and  sullenness.  He  is  the  guide  of  the  com- 
pany, in  their  hunt  after  the  rebel  Baltinglas ;  and 
woe  to  him  if  he  play  them  false. 

"A  pleasant  country,  truly,  Captain  Raleigh," 
says  the  dingy  officer  to  the  gay  one.  "  I  wonder 
how,  having  once  escaped  from  it  to  Whitehall, 
you  have  the  courage  to  come  back  and  spoil  that 
gay  suit  with  bog-water  and  mud." 

"A  very  pleasant  country,  my  friend  Amyas; 
what  you  say  in  jest,  I  say  in  earnest." 

"  Hillo !  Our  tastes  have  changed  places.  I 
am  sick  of  it  already,  as  you  foretold.  Would 
Heaven  that  I  could  hear  of  some  adventure 
Westward-ho  !  and  find  these  big  bones  swinging  in 
a  hammock  once  more.  Pray  what  has  made  you 
so  suddenly  in  love  with  bog  and  rock,  that  you 
come  back  to  tramp  them  with  us?  I  thought  you 
had  spied  out  the  nakedness  of  the  land  long  ago." 

"Bog  and  rock?  Nakedness  of  the  land? 
What  is  needed  here  but  prudence  and  skill, 
justice  and  law?  This  soil,  see,  is  fat  enough,  if 
men  were  here  to  till  it.  These  rocks  —  who 
knows  what  minerals  they  may  hold?  I  hear  of 
gold  and  jewels  found  already  in  divers  parts ;  and 
Daniel,  my  brother  Humphrey's  German  assayer, 
assures  me  that  these  rocks  are  of  the  very  same 
kind  as  those  which  yield  the  silver  in  Peru.  Tut, 


338 


Westward  Ho ! 


man !  if  her  gracious  majesty  would  but  bestow 
on  me  some  few  square  miles  of  this  same  wilder- 
ness, in  seven  years'  time  I  would  make  it  blossom 
like  the  rose,  by  God's  good  help." 

"  Humph !  I  should  be  more  inclined  to  stay 
here,  then." 

"  So  you  shall,  and  be  my  agent,  if  you  will,  to 
get  in  my  mine-rents  and  my  corn-rents,  and  my 
fishery-rents,  eh?  Could  you  keep  accounts,  old 
knight  of  the  bear's-paw?" 

"Well  enough  for  such  short  reckonings  as 
yours  would  be,  on  the  profit  side  at  least.  No, 
no  —  I  'd  sooner  carry  lime  all  my  days  from 
Cauldy  to  Bideford,  than  pass  another  twelve- 
month in  the  land  of  Ire,  among  the  children  of 
wrath.  There  is  a  curse  upon  the  face  of  the 
earth,  I  believe." 

"  There  is  no  curse  upon  it,  save  the  old  one  of 
man's  sin  — '  Thorns  and  thistles  it  shall  bring 
forth  to  thee.'  But  if  you  root  up  the  thorns  and 
thistles,  Amyas,  I  know  no  fiend  who  can  prevent 
your  growing  wheat  instead;  and  if  you  till  the 
ground  like  a  man,  you  plough  and  harrow  away 
nature's  curse,  and  other  fables  of  the  schoolmen 
beside,"  added  he,  in  that  daring  fashion  which 
afterwards  obtained  for  him  (and  never  did  good 
Christian  less  deserve  it)  the  imputation  of  atheism. 

"  It  is  sword  and  bullet,  I  think,  that  are  needed 
here,  before  plough  and  harrow,  to  clear  away 
some  of  the  curse.  Until  a  few  more  of  these  Irish 
lords  are  gone  where  the  Desmonds  are,  there  is 
no  peace  for  Ireland." 

"  Humph  !  not  so  far  wrong,  I  fear.  And  yet  — 
Irish  lords?  These  very  traitors  are  better  English 
blood  than  we  who  hunt  them  down.  When  Yeo 


How  Eustace  Met  the  Legate     339 

here  slew  the  Desmond  the  other  day,  he  no  more 
let  out  a  drop  of  Irish  blood,  than  if  he  had  slain 
the  lord  deputy  himself." 

"His  blood  be  on  his  own  head,"  said  Yeo. 
"  He  looked  as  wild  a  savage  as  the  worst  of  them, 
more  shame  to  him ;  and  the  ancient  here  had  ' 
nigh  cut  off  his  arm  before  he  told  us  who  he  was : 
and  then,  your  worship,  having  a  price  upon  his 
head,  and  like  to  bleed  to  death  too " 

"  Enough,  enough,  good  fellow,"  said  Raleigh. 
"  Thou  hast  done  what  was  given  thee  to  do. 
Strange,  Amyas,  is  it  not?  Noble  Normans  sunk 
into  savages  —  Hibernis  ipsis  hiberniores  !  Is  there 
some  uncivilizing  venom  in  the  air?  " 

"  Some  venom,  at  least,  which  makes  English- 
men traitors.  But  the  Irish  themselves  are  well 
enough,  if  their  tyrants  would  let  them  be.  See 
now,  what  more  faithful  liegeman  has  her  majesty 
than  the  Inchiquin,  who,  they  say,  is  Prince  of 
Themond,  and  should  be  king  of  all  Ireland,  if 
every  man  had  his  right?" 

"Don't  talk  of  rights  in  the  land  of  wrongs, 
man.  But  the  Inchiquin  knows  well  that  the  true 
Irish  Esau  has  no  worse  enemy  than  his  sup- 
planter,  the  Norman  Jacob.  And  yet,  Amyas,  are 
even  these  men  worse  than  we  might  be,  if  we  had 
been  bred  up  masters  over  the  bodies  and  souls  of 
men,  in  some  remote  land  where  law  and  order  had 
never  come?  Look  at  this  Desmond,  brought  up 
a  savage  among  savages,  a  Papist  among  Papists, 
a  despot  among  slaves ;  a  thousand  easy  maidens 
deeming  it  honor  to  serve  his  pleasure,  a  thousand 
wild  ruffians  deeming  it  piety  to  fulfil  his  revenge: 
and  let  him  that  is  without  sin  among  us  cast  the 
first  stone." 


340  Westward  Ho ! 

"  Ay,"  went  on  Raleigh  to  himself,  as  the  conver- 
sation dropped.  "  What  hadst  thou  been,  Raleigh, 
hadst  thou  been  that  Desmond  whose  lands  thou 
now  desirest?  What  wilt  thou  be  when  thou  hast 
them  ?  Will  thy  children  sink  downwards,  as  these 
noble  barons  sank?  Will  the  genius  of  tyranny 
and  falsehood  find  soil  within  thy  heart  to  grow  and 
ripen  fruit?  What  guarantee  hast  thou  for  doing 
better  here  than  those  who  went  before  thee  ?  And 
yet,  cannot 'I  do  justice  and  love  mercy?  Can  I 
not  establish  plantations,  build  and  sow,  and  make 
the  desert  valleys  laugh  with  corn?  Shall  I  not 
have  my  Spenser  with  me,  to  fill  me  with  all  noble 
thoughts,  and  raise  my  soul  to  his  heroic  pitch? 
Is  not  this  true  knight-errantry,  to  redeem  to  peace 
and  use,  and  to  the  glory  of  that  glorious  queen 
whom  God  has  given  to  me,  a  generous  soil  and 
a  more  generous  race?  Trustful  and  tender- 
hearted they  are  —  none  more ;  and  if  they  be 
fickle  and  passionate,  will  not  that  very  softness  of 
temper,  which  makes  them  so  easily  led  to  evil, 
make  them  as  easy  to  be  led  towards  good  ?  Yes 

—  here,  away  from    courts,  among  a  people  who 
should  bless  me  as  their  benefactor  and  deliverer 

—  what   golden  days   might  be   mine !     And  yet 
— is  this   but   another    angel's    mask    from    that 
same  cunning   fiend    ambition's  stage?     And  will 
my  house  be  indeed  the  house  of  God,  the  founda- 
tions of  which  are  loyalty,  and   its  bulwarks  right- 
eousness, and  not  the  house  of  fame,  whose  walls 
are  of  the  soap-bubble,  and  its  floor  a   sea  of  glass 
mingled  with  fire?     I  would  be  good  and  great  — 
When  will  the  day  come  when  I  shall  be  content 
to   be   good,    and  yet   not   great,  like    this  same 
simple  Leigh,  toiling  on  by  my  side  to  do  his  duty, 


How  Eustace  Met  the  Legate     341 

with  no  more  thought  for  the  morrow  than  the 
birds  of  God?  Greatness?  I  have  tasted  that 
cup  within  the  last  twelve  months ;  do  I  not  know 
that  it  is  sweet  in  the  mouth,  but  bitter  in  the 
belly?  Greatness?  And  was  not  Essex  great, 
and  John  of  Austria  great,  and  Desmond  great, 
whose  race,  but  three  short  years  ago,  had  stood 
for  ages  higher  than  I  shall  ever  hope  to  climb  — 
castles,  and  lands,  and  slaves  by  thousands,  and 
five  hundred  gentlemen  of  his  name,  who  had 
vowed  to  forswear  God  before  they  forswore  him ; 
and  well  have  they  kept  their  vow!  And  now, 
dead  in  a  turf-hovel,  like  a  coney  in  a  burrow! 
Leigh,  what  noise  was  that?  " 

"  An  Irish  howl,  I  fancied :  but  it  came  from  off 
the  bog ;  it  may  be  only  a  plover's  cry." 

"  Something  not  quite  right,  sir  captain,  to  my 
mind,"  said  the  ancient.  "  They  have  ugly  stories 
here  of  pucks  and  banshees,  and  what  not  of 
ghosts.  There  it  was  again,  wailing  just  like  a 
woman.  They  say  the  banshee  cried  all  night 
before  Desmond  was  slain." 

"  Perhaps,  then,  this  one  may  be  crying  for 
Baltinglas;  for  his  turn  is  likely  to  come 
next  —  not  that  I  believe  in  such  old  wives' 
tales." 

"  Shamus,  my  man,"  said  Amyas  to  the  guide, 
"  do  you  hear  that  cry  in  the  bog?  " 

The  guide  put  on  the  most  stolid  of  faces,  and 
answered  in  broken  English  — 

"Shamus  hear  naught.  Perhaps  —  what  you 
call  him?  —  fishing  in  ta  pool." 

"An  otter,  he  means,  and  I  believe  he  is  right. 
Stay,  no  !  Did  you  not  hear  it  then,  Shamus?  It 
was  a  woman's  voice." 


34 2  Westward  Ho ! 

"  Shamus  is  shick  in  his  ears  ever  since 
Christmas." 

"  Shamus  will  go  after  Desmond  if  he  lies,"  said 
Amyas.  "  Ancient,  we  had  better  send  a  few  men 
to  see  what  it  is ;  there  may  be  a  poor  soul  taken 
by  robbers,  or  perhaps  starving  to  death,  as  I  have 
seen  many  a  one." 

"  And  I  too,  poor  wretches ;  and  by  no  fault  of 
their  own  or  ours  either:  but  if  their  lords  will  fall 
to  quarrelling,  and  then  drive  each  other's  cattle, 
and  waste  each  other's  lands,  sir,  you  know " 

"  I  know,"  said  Amyas,  impatiently;  "  why  dost 
not  take  the  men,  and  go  ?  " 

"  Cry  you  mercy,  noble  captain,  but  —  I  fear 
nothing  born  of  woman." 

"  Well,  what  of  that?  "  said  Amyas,  with  a  smile. 

"But  these  pucks,  sir.  The  wild  Irish  do  say 
that  they  haunt  the  pools ;  and  they  do  no  manner 
of  harm,  sir,  when  you  are  coming  up  to  them; 
but  when  you  are  past,  sir,  they  jump  on  your 
back  like  to  apes,  sir,  —  and  who  can  tackle  that 
manner  of  fiend?" 

'•  Why,  then,  by  thine  own  showing,  ancient," 
said  Raleigh,  "  thou  may'st  go  and  see  all  safely 
enough,  and  then  if  the  puck  jumps  on  thee  as 
thou  comest  back,  just  run  in  with  him  here,  and 
I  '11  buy  him  of  thee  for  a  noble ;  or  thou  may'st 
keep  him  in  a  cage,  and  make  money  in  London 
by  showing  him  for  a  monster." 

"  Good  heavens  forefend,  Captain  Raleigh !  but 
you  talk  rashly !  But  if  I  must,  Captain  Leigh  — 

•Where  duty  calls 

To  brazen  walls, 

How  base  the  slave  who  flinches.' 

Lads,  who  '11  follow  me?  " 


How  Eustace  Met  the  Legate     343 

"Thou  askest  for  volunteers,  as  if  thou  wert  to 
lead  a  forlorn  hope.  Pull  away  at  the  usquebaugh, 
man,  and  swallow  Dutch  courage,  since  thine  Eng- 
lish is  oozed  away.  Stay,  I  '11  go  myself." 

"And  I  with  you,"  said  Raleigh.  "As  the 
queen's  true  knight-errant,  I  am  bound  to  be 
behindhand  in  no  adventure.  Who  knows  but  we 
may  find  a  wicked  magician,  just  going  to  cut  off 
the  head  of  some  saffron-mantled  princess?"  and 
he  dismounted. 

"  Oh,  sirs,  sirs,  to  endanger  your  precious " 

"  Pooh,"  said  Raleigh.  "  I  wear  an  amulet,  and 
have  a  spell  of  art-magic  at  my  tongue's  end, 
whereby,  sir  ancient,  neither  can  a  ghost  see  me, 
nor  I  see  them.  Come  with  us,  Yeo,  the  Des- 
mond-slayer, and  we  will  shame  the  devil,  or  be 
shamed  by  him." 

"  He  may  shame  me,  sir,  but  he  will  never 
frighten  me,"  quoth  Yeo ;  "  but  the  bog,  cap- 
tains?" 

"  Tut !  Devonshire  men,  and  heath-trotters  born, 
and  not  know  our  way  over  a  peat  moor !  " 

And  the  three  strode  away. 

They  splashed  and  scrambled  for  some  quarter 
of  a  mile  to  the  knoll,  while  the  cry  became 
louder  and  louder  as  they  neared. 

"That's  neither  ghost  nor  otter,  sirs,  but  a  true 
Irish  howl,  as  Captain  Leigh  said  ;  and  I'll  warrant 
Master  Shamus  knew  as  much  long  ago,"  said 
Yeo. 

And  in  fact,  they  could  now  hear  plainly  the 
"  Ochone,  Ochonorie,"  of  some  wild  woman  ;  and 
scrambling  over,  the  boulders  of  the  knoll,  in 
another  minute  came  full  upon  her. 

She  was  a  young  girl,  sluttish  and  unkempt,  of 


344  Westward  Ho ! 

course,  but  fair  enough :  her  only  covering,  as 
usual,  was  the  ample  yellow  mantle.  There  she 
sat  upon  a  stone,  tearing  her  black  dishevelled 
hair,  and  every  now  and  then  throwing  up  her 
head,  and  bursting  into  a  long  mournful  cry,  "for 
all  the  world,"  as  Yeo  said,  "  like  a  dumb  four- 
footed  hound,  and  not  a  Christian  soul." 

On  her  knees  lay  the  head  of  a  man  of  middle 
age,  in  the  long  soutane  of  a  Romish  priest.  One 
look  at  the  attitude  of  his  limbs  told  them  that  he 
was  dead. 

The  two  paused  in  awe ;  and  Raleigh's  spirit, 
susceptible  of  all  poetical  images,  felt  keenly  that 
strange  scene,  —  the  bleak  and  bitter  sky,  the 
shapeless  bog,  the  stunted  trees,  the  savage  girl 
alone  with  the  corpse  in  that  utter  desolation. 
And  as  she  bent  her  head  over  the  still  face,  and 
called  wildly  to  him  who  heard  her  not,  and  then, 
utterly  unmindful  of  the  intruders,  sent  up  again 
that  dreary  wail  into  the  dreary  air,  they  felt  a 
sacred  horror,  which  almost  made  them  turn  away, 
and  leave  her  unquestioned  :  but  Yeo,  whose  nerves 
were  of  tougher  fibre,  asked  quietly  — 

"  Shall  I  go  and  search  the  fellow,  captain  ?  " 

"  Better,  I  think,"  said  Amyas. 

Raleigh  went  gently  to  the  girl,  and  spoke  to 
her  in  English.  She  looked  up  at  him,  his  armor 
and  his  plume,  with  wide  and  wondering  eyes, 
and  then  shook  her  head,  and  returned  to  her 
lamentation. 

Raleigh  gently  laid  his  hand  on  her  arm,  and 
lifted  her  up,  while  Yeo  and  Amyas  bent  over  the 
corpse. 

It  was  the  body  of  a  large  and  coarse-featured 
man,  but  wasted  and  shrunk  as  if  by  famine  to  a 


How  Eustace  Met  the  Legate     345 

very  skeleton.  The  hands  and  legs  were  cramped 
up,  and  the  trunk  bowed  together,  as  if  the  man 
had  died  of  cold  or  famine.  Yeo  drew  back  the 
clothes  from  the  thin  bosom,  while  the  girl 
screamed  and  wept,  but  made  no  effort  to  stop 
him. 

"Ask  her  who  it  is?  Yeo,  you  know  a  little 
Irish,"  said  Amyas. 

He  asked,  but  the  girl  made  no  answer.  "The 
stubborn  jade  won't  tell,  of  course,  sir.  If  she 
were  but  a  man,  I'd  make  her  soon  enough." 

"Ask  her  who  killed  him  ?  " 

"No  one,  she  says;  and  I  believe  she  says  true, 
for  I  can  find  no  wound.  The  man  has  been 
starved,  sirs,  as  I  am  a  sinful  man.  God  help 
him,  though  he  is  a  priest ;  and  yet  he  seems  full 
enough  down  below.  What's  here?  A  big 
pouch,  sirs,  stuffed  full  of  somewhat." 

"Hand  it  hither." 

The  two  opened  the  pouch ;  papers,  papers,  but 
no  scrap  of  food.  Then  a  parchment.  They 
unrolled  it. 

"Latin,"  said  Amyas;  "you  must  construe, 
Don  Scholar." 

"Is  it  possible?"  said  Raleigh,  after  reading 
a  moment.  "  This  is  indeed  a  prize !  This  is 
Saunders  himself ! " 

Yeo  sprang  up  from  the  body  as  if  he  had 
touched  an  adder.  "Nick  Saunders,  the  Legacy, 
sir?" 

"  Nicholas  Saunders,  the  legate. " 

"The  villain!  why  did  not  he  wait  for  me  to 
have  the  comfort  of  killing  him?  Dog!"  and  he 
kicked  the  corpse  with  his  foot. 

"  Quiet !  quiet !    Remember  the  poor  girl,"  said 


346  Westward  Ho ! 

Amyas,  as  she  shrieked  at  the  profanation,  while 
Raleigh  went  on,  half  to  himself: 

"Yes,  this  is  Saunders.  Misguided  fool,  and 
this  is  the  end !  To  this  thou  hast  come  with  thy 
plotting  and  thy  conspiring,  thy  lying  and  thy 
boasting,  consecrated  banners  and  Pope's  bulls, 
Agnus  Deis  and  holy  waters,  the  blessing  of  all 
saints  and  angels,  and  thy  Lady  of  the  Immacu- 
late Conception  !  Thou  hast  called  on  the  heavens 
to  judge  between  thee  and  us,  and  here  is  their 
answer !  What  is  that  in  his  hand,  Amyas  ?  Give 
it  me.  A  pastoral  epistle  to  the  Earl  of  Ormond, 
and  all  nobles  of  the  realm  of  Ireland ;  '  To  all 
who  groan  beneath  the  loathsome  tyranny  of  an 
illegitimate  adulteress,  etc.,  Nicholas  Saunders, 
by  the  grace  of  God,  Legate,  etc. '  Bah !  and 
this  forsooth  was  thy  last  meditation !  Incor- 
rigible pedant !  Victrix  causa  Diis  placuit,  sed 
victa  Catoni  /" 

He  ran  his  eye  through  various  other  docu- 
ments, written  in  the  usual  strain:  full  of  huge 
promises  from  the  Pope  and  the  king  of  Spain ; 
frantic  and  filthy  slanders  against  Elizabeth, 
Burghley,  Leicester,  Essex  (the  elder),  Sidney, 
and  every  great  and  good  man  (never  mind  of 
which  party)  who  then  upheld  the  commonweal; 
bombastic  attempts  to  terrify  weak  consciences, 
by  denouncing  endless  fire  against  those  who 
opposed  the  true  faith;  fulsome  ascriptions  of 
martyrdom  and  sanctity  to  every  rebel  and  traitor 
who  had  been  hanged  for  the  last  twenty  years; 
wearisome  arguments  about  the  bull  In  Ccena 
Domini,  Elizabeth's  excommunication,  the  nul- 
lity of  English  law,  the  sacred  duty  of  rebellion, 
the  right  to  kill  a  prince  impenitently  heretical, 


How  Eustace  Met  the  Legate     347 

and  the  like  insanities  and  villainies,  which  may 
be  read  at  large  in  Camden,  the  Phoenix  Britan- 
nicus,  Fox's  Martyrs,  or,  surest  of  all,  in  the 
writings  of  the  worthies  themselves. 

With  a  gesture  of  disgust,  Raleigh  crammed 
the  foul  stuff  back  again  into  the  pouch.  Taking 
it  with  them,  they  walked  back  to  the  company, 
and  then  remounting,  marched  away  once  more 
towards  the  lands  of  the  Desmonds;  and  the  girl 
was  left  alone  with  the  dead. 

An  hour  had  passed,  when  another  Englishman 
was  standing  by  the  wailing  girl,  and  round  him 
a  dozen  shockheaded  kernes,  skene  on  thigh  and 
javelin  in  hand,  were  tossing  about  their  tawny 
rags,  and  adding  their  lamentations  to  those  of 
the  lonely  watcher. 

The  Englishman  was  Eustace  Leigh;  a  layman 
still,  but  still  at  his  old  work.  By  two  years  of 
intrigue  and  labor  from  one  end  of  Ireland  to  the 
other,  he  had  been  trying  to  satisfy  his  con- 
science for  rejecting  "the  higher  calling"  of  the 
celibate;  for  mad  hopes  still  lurked  within  that 
fiery  heart.  His  brow  was  wrinkled  now;  his 
features  harshened;  the  scar  upon  his  face,  and 
the  slight  distortion  which  accompanied  it,  was 
hidden  by  a  bushy  beard  from  all  but  himself; 
and  he  never  forgot  it  for  a  day,  nor  forgot  who 
had  given  it  to  him. 

He  had  been  with  Desmond,  wandering  in 
moor  and  moss  for  many  a  month  in  danger  of 
his  life;  and  now  he  was  on  his  way  to  James 
Fitz-Eustace,  Lord  Baltinglas,  to  bring  him  the 
news  of  Desmond's  death;  and  with  him  a  rem- 
nant of  the  clan,  who  were  either  too  stout- 
hearted, or  too  desperately  stained  with  crime, 


348  Westward  Ho ! 

to  seek  peace  from  the  English,  and,  as  their 
fellows  did,  find  it  at  once  and  freely. 

There  Eustace  stood,  looking  down  on  all  that 
was  left  of  the  most  sacred  personage  of  Ireland ; 
the  man  who,  as  he  once  had  hoped,  was  to 
regenerate  his  native  land,  and  bring  the  proud 
island  of  the  West  once  more  beneath  that  gentle 
yoke,  in  which  united  Christendom  labored  for 
the  commonweal  of  the  universal  Church.  There 
he  was,  and  with  him  all  Eustace's  dreams,  in 
the  very  heart  of  that  country  which  he  had 
vowed,  and  believed  as  he  vowed,  was  ready  to 
rise  in  arms  as  one  man,  even  to  the  baby  at  the 
breast  (so  he  had  said),  in  vengeance  against  the 
Saxon  heretic,  and  sweep  the  hated  name  of 
Englishman  into  the  deepest  abysses  of  the  surge 
which  walled  her  coasts;  with  Spain  and  the 
Pope  to  back  him,  and  the  wealth  of  the  Jesuits 
at  his  command;  in  the  midst  of  faithful  Catho- 
lics, valiant  soldiers,  noblemen  who  had  pledged 
themselves  to  die  for  the  cause,  serfs  who  wor- 
shipped him  as  a  demigod  —  starved  to  death  in 
a  bog!  It  was  a  pretty  plain  verdict  on  the 
reasonableness  of  his  expectations;  but  not  to 
Eustace  Leigh. 

It  was  a  failure,  of  course;  but  it  was  an  acci- 
dent ;  indeed,  to  have  been  expected,  in  a  wicked 
world  whose  prince  and  master,  as  all  knew,  was 
the  devil  himself;  indeed,  proof  of  the  righteous- 
ness of  the  cause  —  for  when  had  the  true  faith 
been  other  than  persecuted  and  trampled  under 
foot  ?  If  one  came  to  think  of  it  with  eyes  puri- 
fied from  the  tears  of  carnal  impatience,  what  was 
it  but  a  glorious  martyrdom  ? 

"Blest  Saunders! "  murmured  Eustace  Leigh; 


How  Eustace  Met  the  Legate     349 

"let  me  die  the  death  of  the  righteous,  and  let 
my  last  end  be  like  this !  Or  a  pro  me,  most 
excellent  martyr,  while  I  dig  thy  grave  upon  this 
lonely  moor,  to  wait  there  for  thy  translation  to 
one  of  those  stately  shrines,  which,  cemented  by 
the  blood  of  such  as  thee,  shall  hereafter  rise 
restored  toward  heaven,  to  make  this  land  once 
more  'The  Isle  of  Saints.'" 

The  corpse  was  buried;  a  few  prayers  said 
hastily;  and  Eustace  Leigh  was  away  again,  not 
now  to  find  Baltinglas ;  for  it  was  more  than  his 
life  was  worth.  The  girl  had  told  him  of  the 
English  soldiers  who  had  passed,  and  he  knew 
that  they  would  reach  the  earl  probably  before  he 
did.  The  game  was  up;  all  was  lost.  So  he 
retraced  his  steps,  as  a  desperate  resource,  to  the 
last  place  where  he  would  be  looked  for,  and 
after  a  month  of  disguising,  hiding,  and  other 
expedients,  found  himself  again  in  his  native 
county  of  Devon,  while  Fitz-Eustace  Viscount 
Baltinglas  had  taken  ship  for  Spain,  having  got 
little  by  his  famous  argument  to  Ormond  in 
behalf  of  his  joining  the  Church  of  Rome,  "  Had 
not  thine  ancestor,  blessed  Thomas  of  Canter- 
bury, died  for  the  Church  of  Rome,  thou  hadst 
never  been  Earl  of  Ormond. "  The  premises  were 
certainly  sounder  than  those  of  his  party  were 
wont  to  be ;  for  it  was  to  expiate  the  murder  of  that 
turbulent  hero  that  the  Ormond  lands  had  been 
granted  by  Henry  II.  :  but  ss  for  the  conclusion 
therefrom,  it  was  much  on  a  par  with  the  rest. 

And  now  let  us  return  to  Raleigh  and  Amyas, 
as  they  jog  along  their  weary  road.  They  have 
many  things  to  talk  of;  for  it  is  but  three  days 
since  they  met. 


350  Westward  Ho ! 

Amyas,  as  you  see,  is  coming  fast  into 
Raleigh's  old  opinion  of  Ireland.  Raleigh, 
under  the  inspiration  of  a  possible  grant  of 
Desmond's  lands,  looks  on  bogs  and  rocks  trans- 
figured by  his  own  hopes  and  fancy,  as  if  by  the 
glory  of  a  rainbow.  He  looked  at  all  things  so, 
noble  fellow,  even  thirty  years  after,  when  old, 
worn  out,  and  ruined;  well  for  him  had  it  been 
otherwise,  and  his  heart  had  grown  old  with  his 
head!  Amyas,  who  knows  nothing  about  Des- 
mond's lands,  is  puzzled  at  the  change. 

"Why,  what  is  this,  Raleigh?  You  are  like 
children  sitting  in  the  market-place,  and  nothing 
pleases  you.  You  wanted  to  get  to  Court,  and 
you  have  got  there;  and  are  lord  and  master,  I 
hear,  or  something  very  like  it,  already  —  and  as 
soon  as  fortune  stuffs  your  mouth  full  of  sweet- 
meats, do  you  turn  informer  on  her?" 

Raleigh  laughed  insignificantly,  but  was  silent. 

"  And  how  is  your  friend  Mr.  Secretary  Spenser, 
who  was  with  us  at  Smerwick  ? " 

"Spenser?  He  has  thriven  even  as  I  have; 
and  he  has  found,  as  I  have,  that  in  making  one 
friend  at  Court  you  make  ten  foes ;  but  '  Oderint 
dum  metuant1  is  no  more  my  motto  than  his, 
Leigh.  I  want  to  be  great  —  great  I  am  already, 
they  say,  if  princes'  favor  can  swell  the  frog  into 
an  ox;  but  I  want  to  be  liked,  loved  —  I  want  to 
see  people  smile  when  I  enter." 

"So  they  do,  I  '11  warrant,"  said  Amyas. 

"So  do  hyenas,"  said  Raleigh;  "grin  because 
they  are  hungry,  and  I  may  throw  them  a  bone; 
I  '11  throw  you  one  now,  old  lad,  or  rather  a  good 
sirloin  of  beef,  for  the  sake  of  your  smile. 
That 's  honest,  at  least,  I  '11  warrant,  whosoever's 


How  Eustace  Met  the  Legate     351 

else  is  not.  Have  you  heard  of  my  brother 
Humphrey's  new  project?" 

"  How  should  I  hear  anything  in  this  waste 
howling  wilderness  ? " 

"  Kiss  hands  to  the  wilderness,  then,  and  come 
with  me  to  Newfoundland ! " 

"You  to  Newfoundland? " 

"Yes.  I  to  Newfoundland,  unless  my  little 
matter  here  is  settled  at  once.  Gloriana  don't 
know  it,  and  sha'n't  till  I  'm  off.  She  'd  send  me 
to  the  Tower,  I  think,  if  she  caught  me  playing 
truant.  I  could  hardly  get  leave  to  come  hither; 
but  I  must  out,  and  try  my  fortune.  I  am  over 
ears  in  debt  already,  and  sick  of  courts  and 
courtiers.  Humphrey  must  go  next  spring  and 
take  possession  of  his  kingdom  beyond  seas,  or 
his  patent  expires;  and  with  him  I  go,  and  you 
too,  my  circumnavigating  giant." 

And  then  Raleigh  expounded  to  Amyas  the 
details  of  the  great  Newfoundland  scheme,  which 
whoso  will  may  read  in  the  pages  of  Hakluyt. 

Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert,  Raleigh's  half-brother, 
held  a  patent  for  "  planting  "  the  lands  of  New- 
foundland and  "Meta  Incognita"  (Labrador). 
He  had  attempted  a  voyage  thither  with  Raleigh 
in  1578,  whereof  I  never  could  find  any  news, 
save  that  he  came  back  again,  after  a  heavy  brush 
with  some  Spanish  ships  (in  which  his  best  cap- 
tain, Mr.  Morgan,  was  killed),  having  done  noth- 
ing, and  much  impaired  his  own  estate :  but  now 
he  had  collected  a  large  sum;  Sir  Gilbert  Peck- 
ham  of  London,  Mr.  Hayes  of  South  Devon,  and 
various  other  gentlemen,  of  whom  more  hereafter, 
had  adventured  their  money;  and  a  considerable 
colony  was  to  be  sent  out  the  next  year,  with 


352  Westward  Ho ! 

miners,  assayers,  and,  what  was  more,  Parmenius 
Budaeus,  Frank's  old  friend,  who  had  come  to 
England  full  of  thirst  to  see  the  wonders  of  the 
New  World;  and  over  and  above  this,  as  Raleigh 
told  Amyas  in  strictest  secrecy,  Adrian  Gilbert, 
Humphrey's  brother,  was  turning  every  stone  at 
Court  for  a  patent  of  discovery  in  the  North- 
West;  and  this  Newfoundland  colony,  though  it 
was  to  produce  gold,  silver,  merchandise,  and 
what  not,  was  but  a  basis  of  operations,  a  half- 
way house  from  whence  to  work  out  the  North - 
West  passage  to  the  Indies  —  that  golden  dream, 
as  fatal  to  English  valor  as  the  Guiana  one  to 
Spanish  —  and  yet  hardly,  hardly  to  be  regretted, 
when  we  remember  the  seamanship,  the  science, 
the  chivalry,  the  heroism,  unequalled  in  the 
history  of  the  English  nation,  which  it  has  called 
forth  among  those  our  later  Arctic  voyagers,  who 
have  combined  the  knight-errantry  of  the  middle 
age  with  the  practical  prudence  of  the  modern, 
and  dared  for  duty  more  than  Cortez  or  Pizarro 
dared  for  gold. 

Amyas,  simple  fellow,  took  all  in  greedily;  he 
knew  enough  of  the  dangers  of  the  Magellan  pas- 
sage to  appreciate  the  boundless  value  of  a  road 
to  the  East  Indies  which  would  (as  all  supposed 
then)  save  half  the  distance,  and  be  as  it  were  a 
private  possession  of  the  English,  safe  from 
Spanish  interference;  and  he  listened  reverently 
to  Sir  Humphrey's  quaint  proofs,  half  true,  half 
fantastic,  of  such  a  passage,  which  Raleigh 
detailed  to  him  —  of  the  Primum  Mobile,  and  its 
diurnal  motion  from  east  to  west,  in  obedience  to 
which  the  sea-current  flowed  westward  ever  round 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  being  unable  to  pass 


How  Eustace  Met  the  Legate     353 

through  the  narrow  strait  between  South  America 
and  the  Antarctic  continent,  rushed  up  the 
American  shore,  as  the  Gulf  Stream,  and  poured 
northwestward  between  Greenland  and  Labrador 
towards  Cathay  and  India;  of  that  most  crafty 
argument  of  Sir  Humphrey's  —  how  Aristotle  in 
his  book  "De  Mundo,"  and  Simon  Gryneus  in 
his  annotations  thereon,  declare  that  the  world 
(the  Old  World)  is  an  island,  compassed  by  that 
which  Homer  calls  the  river  Oceanus ;  ergo,  the 
New  World  is  an  island  also,  and  there  is  a 
North-West  passage;  of  the  three  brothers  (names 
unknown)  who  had  actually  made  the  voyage, 
and  named  what  was  afterwards  called  Davis's 
Strait  after  themselves ;  of  the  Indians  who  were 
cast  ashore  in  Germany  in  the  reign  of  Frederic 
Barbarossa,  who,  as  Sir  Humphrey  had  learnedly 
proved  per  modum  tollendi,  could  have  come  only 
by  the  North-West ;  and  above  all,  of  Salvaterra, 
the  Spaniard,  who  in  1568  had  told  Sir  Henry 
Sidney  (Philip's  father),  there  in  Ireland,  how  he 
had  spoken  with  a  Mexican  friar  named  Urdaneta, 
who  had  himself  come  from  Mar  del  Zur  (the 
Pacific)  into  Germany  by  that  very  North- West 
passage;  at  which  last  Amyas  shook  his  head, 
and  said  that  friars  were  liars,  and  seeing  believ- 
ing ;  "  but  if  you  must  needs  have  an  adventure, 
you  insatiable  soul  you,  why  not  try  for  the 
golden  city  of  Manoa?" 

"Manoa?"  asked  Raleigh,  who  had  heard,  as 
most  had,  dim  rumors  of  the  place.  "What  do 
you  know  of  it  ? " 

Whereon  Amyas  told  him  all  that  he  had  gath- 
ered from  the  Spaniard;  and  Raleigh,  in  his 
turn,  believed  every  word, 

Vol.  8-16 


354  Westward  Ho ! 

"  Humph !  "  said  he  after  a  long  silence.  "  To 
find  that  golden  emperor;  offer  him  help  and 
friendship  from  the  queen  of  England;  defend 
him  against  the  Spaniards ;  if  we  became  strong 
enough,  conquer  back  all  Peru  from  the  Popish 
tyrants,  and  reinstate  him  on  the  throne  of  the 
Incas,  with  ourselves  for  his  body-guard,  as  the 
Norman  Varangians  were  to  the  effeminate  em- 
perors of  Byzant  —  Hey,  Amyas?  You  would 
make  a  gallant  chieftain  of  Varangs.  We'll  do 
it,  lad ! " 

"We'll  try,"  said  Amyas;  "but  we  must  be 
quick,  for  there  's  one  Berreo  sworn  to  carry  out 
the  quest  to  the  death;  and  if  the  Spaniards 
once  get  thither,  their  plan  of  works  will  be 
much  more  like  Pizarro's  than  like  yours;  and  by 
the  time  we  come,  there  will  be  neither  gold  nor 
city  left." 

"Nor  Indians  either,  I  '11  warrant  the  butchers; 
but,  lad,  I  am  promised  to  Humphrey;  I  have  a 
bark  fitting  out  already,  and  all  I  have,  and  more, 
adventured  in  her;  so  Manoa  must  wait." 

"It  will  wait  well  enough,  if  the  Spaniards 
prosper  no  better  on  the  Amazon  than  they  have 
done;  but  must  I  come  with  you?  To  tell  the 
truth,  I  am  quite  shore-sick,  and  to  sea  I  must 
go.  What  will  my  mother  say?" 

"I'll  manage  thy  mother,"  said  Raleigh;  and 
so  he  did ;  for,  to  cut  a  long  story  short,  he  went 
back  the  month  after,  and  he  not  only  took  home 
letters  from  Amyas  to  his  mother,  but  so  im- 
pressed on  that  good  lady  the  enormous  profits 
and  honors  to  be  derived  from  Meta  Incognita, 
and  (which  was  most  true)  the  advantage  to  any 
young  man  of  sailing  with  such  a  general  as 


How  Eustace  Met  the  Legate     355 

Humphrey  Gilbert,  most  pious  and  most  learned 
of  seamen  and  of  cavaliers,  beloved  and  honored 
above  all  his  compeers  by  Queen  Elizabeth,  that 
she  consented  to  Amyas's  adventuring  in  the 
voyage  some  two  hundred  pounds  which  had 
come  to  him  as  his  share  of  prize-money,  after 
the  ever  memorable  circumnavigation.  For  Mrs. 
Leigh,  be  it  understood,  was  no  longer  at  Bur- 
rough  Court.  By  Frank's  persuasion,  she  had 
let  the  old  place,  moved  up  to  London  with  her 
eldest  son,  and  taken  for  herself  a  lodging  some- 
where by  Palace  Stairs,  which  looked  out  upon 
the  silver  Thames  (for  Thames  was  silver  then), 
with  its  busy  ferries  and  gliding  boats,  across  to 
the  pleasant  fields  of  Lambeth,  and  the  Arch- 
bishop's palace,  and  the  wooded  Surrey  hills; 
and  there  she  spent  her  peaceful  days,  close  to 
her  Frank  and  to  the  Court.  Elizabeth  would 
have  had  her  re-enter  it,  offering  her  a  small 
place  in  the  household :  but  she  declined,  saying 
that  she  was  too  old  and  heart-weary  for  aught 
but  prayer.  So  by  prayer  she  lived,  under  the 
sheltering  shadow  of  the  tall  minster,  where  she 
went  morn  and  even  to  worship,  and  to  entreat 
for  the  two  in  whom  her  heart  was  bound  up; 
and  Frank  slipped  in  every  day  if  but  for  five 
minutes,  and  brought  with  him  Spenser,  or 
Raleigh,  or  Dyer,  or  Budaeus,  or  sometimes 
Sidney's  self:  and  there  was  talk  of  high  and 
holy  things,  of  which  none  could  speak  better 
than  could  she;  and  each  guest  went  from  that 
hallowed  room  a  humbler  and  yet  a  loftier  man. 
So  slipped  on  the  peaceful  months,  and  few  and 
far  between  came  Irish  letters,  for  Ireland  was 
then  farther  from  Westminster  than  is  the  Black 


356  Westward  Ho ! 

Sea  now;  but  those  were  days  in  which  wives 
and  mothers  had  learned  (as  they  have  learned 
once  more,  sweet  souls !)  to  walk  by  faith  and  not 
by  sight  for  those  they  love :  and  Mrs.  Leigh  was 
content  (though  when  was  she  not  content?)  to 
hear  that  Amyas  was  winning  a  good  report  as  a 
brave  and  prudent  officer,  sober,  just,  and  faith- 
ful, beloved  and  obeyed  alike  by  English  soldiers 
and  Irish  kernes. 

Those  two  years,  and  the  one  which  followed, 
were  the  happiest  which  she  had  known  since  her 
husband's  death.  But  the  cloud  was  fast  coming 
up  the  horizon,  though  she  saw  it  not.  A  little 
longer,  and  the  sun  would  be  hid  for  many  a 
wintry  day. 

Amyas  went  to  Plymouth  (with  Yeo,  of  course, 
at  his  heels),  and  there  beheld,  for  the  first  time, 
the  majestic  countenance  of  the  philosopher  of 
Compton  castle.  He  lodged  with  Drake,  and 
found  him  not  over-sanguine  as  to  the  success  of 
the  voyage. 

"For  learning  and  manners,  Amyas,  there's 
not  his  equal;  and  the  queen  may  well  love  him, 
and  Devon  be  proud  of  him :  but  book-learning  is 
not  business;  book-learning  didn't  get  me  round 
the  world;  book-learning  didn't  make  Captain 
Hawkins,  nor  his  father  neither,  the  best  ship- 
builders from  Hull  to  Cadiz;  and  book-learning, 
I  very  much  fear,  won't  plant  Newfoundland." 

However,  the  die  was  cast,  and  the  little  fleet 
of  five  sail  assembled  in  Cawsand  Bay.  Amyas 
was  to  go  as  a  gentleman  adventurer  on  board  of 
Raleigh's  bark;  Raleigh  himself,  however,  at  the 
eleventh  hour,  had  been  forbidden  by  the  queen 
to  leave  England.  Ere  they  left,  Sir  Humphrey 


How  Eustace  Met  the  Legate     357 

Gilbert's  picture  was  painted  by  some  Plymouth 
artist,  to  be  sent  up  to  Elizabeth  in  answer  to  a 
letter  and  a  gift  sent  by  Raleigh,  which,  as  a 
specimen  of  the  men  and  of  the  time,  I  here 
transcribe l  — 

"  BROTHER  —  I  have  sent  you  a  token  from  her 
Majesty,  an  anchor  guided  by  a  lady,  as  you  see.  And 
further,  her  Highness  willed  me  to  send  you  word,  that 
she  wisheth  you  as  great  good  hap  and  safety  to  your 
ship  as  if  she  were  there  in  person,  desiring  you  to  have 
care  of  yourself  as  of  that  which  she  tendereth ;  and, 
therefore,  for  her  sake,  you  must  provide  for  it  accord- 
ingly. Furthermore,  she  commandeth  that  you  leave 
your  picture  with  her.  For  the  rest  I  leave  till  our 
meeting,  or  to  the  report  of  the  bearer,  who  would  needs 
be  the  messenger  of  this  good  news.  So  I  commit  you 
to  the  will  and  protection  of  God,  who  send  us  such  life 
and  death  as  he  shall  please,  or  hath  appointed. 
"  Richmond,  this  Friday  morning, 
"  Your  true  Brother, 

"W.  RALEIGH." 

"  Who  would  not  die,  sir,  for  such  a  woman  ? " 
said  Sir  Humphrey  (and  he  said  truly),  as  he 
showed  that  letter  to  Amyas. 

"Who  would  not?  But  she  bids  you  rather 
live  for  her." 

"I  shall  do  both,  young  man;  and  for  God  too, 
I  trust.  We  are  going  in  God's  cause;  we  go  for 
the  honor  of  God's  Gospel,  for  the  deliverance  of 
poor  infidels  led  captive  by  the  devil;  for  the 
relief  of  my  distressed  countrymen  unemployed 
within  this  narrow  isle;  and  to  God  we  commit 

1  This  letter  was  a  few  years  since  in  the  possession  of  Mr. 
Fomeroy  Gilbert,  fort-major  at  Dartmouth,  a  descendant  of  the 
admiral's. 


358  Westward  Ho! 

our  cause.  We  fight  against  the  devil  himself; 
and  stronger  is  He  that  is  within  us  than  he  that 
is  against  us." 

Some  say  that  Raleigh  himself  came  down  to 
Plymouth,  accompanied  the  fleet  a  day's  sail  to 
sea,  and  would  have  given  her  majesty  the  slip, 
and  gone  with  them  Westward-ho,  but  for  Sir 
Humphrey's  advice.  It  is  likely  enough:  but  I 
cannot  find  evidence  for  it.  At  all  events,  on 
the  nth  June  the  fleet  sailed  out,  having,  says 
Mr.  Hayes,  "in  number  about  260  men,  among 
whom  we  had  of  every  faculty  good  choice,  as 
shipwrights,  masons,  carpenters,  smiths,  and 
such  like,  requisite  for  such  an  action;  also 
mineral  men  and  refiners.  Beside,  for  solace  of 
our  people  and  allurement  of  the  savages,  we 
were  provided  of  musique  in  good  variety;  not 
omitting  the  least  toys,  as  morris-dancers,  hobby- 
horses, and  May-like  conceits,  to  delight  the 
savage  people,  whom  we  intended  to  win  by  all 
fair  means  possible."  An  armament  complete 
enough,  even  to  that  tenderness  towards  the 
Indians,  which  is  so  striking  a  feature  of  the 
Elizabethan  seamen  (called  out  in  them,  perhaps, 
by  horror  at  the  Spanish  cruelties,  as  well  as  by 
their  more  liberal  creed),  and  to  the  daily  service 
of  God  on  board  of  every  ship,  according  to  the 
simple  old  instructions  of  Captain  John  Hawkins 
to  one  of  his  little  squadrons,  "  Keep  good  com- 
pany; beware  of  fire;  serve  God  daily;  and  love 
one  another"  —  an  armament,  in  short,  complete 
in  all  but  men.  The  sailors  had  been  picked  up 
hastily  and  anywhere,  and  soon  proved  them- 
selves a  mutinous,  and,  in  the  case  of  the  bark 
Swallow,  a  piratical  set.  The  mechanics  were 


How  Eustace  Met  the  Legate     359 

little  better.  The  gentlemen-adventurers,  puffed 
up  with  vain  hopes  of  finding  a  new  Mexico,  be- 
came soon  disappointed  and  surly  at  the  hard 
practical  reality;  while  over  all  was  the  head  of  a 
sage  and  an  enthusiast,  a  man  too  noble  to  suspect 
others,  and  too  pure  to  make  allowances  for  poor 
dirty  human  weaknesses.  He  had  got  his  scheme 
perfect  upon  paper;  well  for  him,  and  for  his  com- 
pany, if  he  had  asked  Francis  Drake  to  translate 
it  for  him  into  fact !  As  early  as  the  second  day, 
the  seeds  of  failure  began  to  sprout  above  ground. 
The  men  of  Raleigh's  bark,  the  Vice-Admiral, 
suddenly  found  themselves  seized,  or  supposed 
themselves  seized,  with  a  contagious  sickness, 
and  at  midnight  forsook  the  fleet,  and  went  back 
to  Plymouth;  whereto  Mr.  Hayes  can  only  say, 
"  The  reason  I  never  could  understand.  Sure  I 
am  that  Mr.  Raleigh  spared  no  cost  in  setting 
them  forth.  And  so  I  leave  it  unto  God ! " 

But  Amyas  said  more.  He  told  Butler  the 
captain  plainly  that,  if  the  bark  went  back,  he 
would  not;  that  he  had  seen  enough  of  ships 
deserting  their  consorts;  that  it  should  never  be 
said  of  him  that  he  had  followed  Winter's 
example,  and  that,  too,  on  a  fair  easterly  wind ; 
and  finally  that  he  had  seen  Doughty  hanged  for 
trying  to  play  such  a  trick,  and  that  he  might  see 
others  hanged  too  before  he  died.  Whereon 
Captain  Butler  offered  to  draw  and  fight,  to  which 
Amyas  showed  no  repugnance;  whereon  the  cap- 
tain, having  taken  a  second  look  at  Amyas's 
thews  and  sinews,  reconsidered  the  matter,  and 
offered  to  put  Amyas  on  board  of  Sir  Humphrey's 
Delight,  if  he  could  find  a  crew  to  row  him. 

Amyas  looked  around. 


36° 


Westward  Ho ! 


"Are  there  any  of  Sir  Francis  Drake's  men  on 
board?" 

"Three,  sir,"  said  Yeo.  "Robert  Drew,  and 
two  others." 

"Pelicans!"  roared  Amyas,  "you  have  been 
round  the  world,  and  will  you  turn  back  from 
Westward-ho  ? " 

There  was  a  moment's  silence,  and  then  Drew 
came  forward. 

"Lower  us  a  boat,  captain,  and  lend  us  a 
caliver  to  make  signals  .with,  while  I  get  my  kit 
on  deck;  I  '11  after  Captain  Leigh,  if  I  row  him 
aboard  all  alone  to  my  own  hands." 

"If  I  ever  command  a  ship,  I  will  not  forget 
you,"  said  Amyas. 

"Nor  us  either,  sir,  we  hope;  for  we  haven't 
forgotten  you  and  your  honest  conditions,"  said 
both  the  other  Pelicans;  and  so  away  over  the 
side  went  all  the  five,  and  pulled  away  after  the 
admiral's  lantern,  firing  shots  at  intervals  as 
signals.  Luckily  for  the  five  desperadoes,  the 
night  was  all  but  calm.  They  got  on  board 
before  the  morning,  and  so  away  into  the  bound- 
less West.1 

1  The  Raleigh,  the  largest  ship  of  the  squadron,  was  of  only 
200  tons  burden ;  The  Golden  Hind,  Hayes'  ship,  which  returned 
safe,  of  40;  and  The  Squirrel  (whereof  more  hereafter),  of  10 
tons!  In  such  cockboats  did  these  old  heroes  brave  the  un- 
known seas. 


CHAPTER   XII 

HOW     BIDEFORD     BRIDGE     DINED     AT     ANNERV 
HOUSE 

"  Three  lords  sat  drinking  late  yestreen, 
And  ere  they  paid  the  lawing, 
They  set  a  combat  them  between, 
To  fight  it  in  the  dawing."  —  Scotch  Ballad. 

EVERY  one  who  knows  Bideford  cannot  but 
know  Bideford  bridge;  for  it  is  the  very 
omphalos,  cynosure,  and  soul,  around  which  the 
town,  as  a  body,  has  organized  itself;  and  as 
Edinburgh  is  Edinburgh  by  virtue  of  its  castle, 
Rome  Rome  by  virtue  of  its  capitol,  and  Egypt 
Egypt  by  virtue  of  its  pyramids,  so  is  Bideford 
Bideford  by  virtue  of  its  bridge.  But  all  do  not 
know  the  occult  powers  which  have  advanced  and 
animated  the  said  wondrous  bridge  for  now  five 
hundred  years,  and  made  it  the  chief  wonder, 
according  to  Prince  and  Fuller,  of  this  fair  land 
of  Devon :  being  first  an  inspired  bridge,  a  soul- , 
saving  bridge,  an  alms-giving  bridge,  an  educa- 
tional bridge,  a  sentient  bridge,  and  last,  but 
not  least,  a  dinner-giving  bridge.  All  do  not 
know  how,  when  it  began  to  be  built  some  half 
mile  higher  up,  hands  invisible  carried  the  stones 
down-stream  each  night  to  the  present  site;  until 
Sir  Richard  Gurney,  parson  of  the  parish,  going 
to  bed  one  night  in  sore  perplexity  and  fear  of  the 


362  Westward  Ho ! 

evil  spirit  who  seemed  so  busy  in  his  sheepfold, 
beheld  a  vision  of  an  angel,  who  bade  build  the 
bridge  where  he  himself  had  so  kindly  transported 
the  materials;  for  there  alone  was  sure  founda- 
tion amid  the  broad  sheet  of  shifting  sand.  All 
do  not  know  how  Bishop  Grandison  of  Exeter 
proclaimed  throughout  his  diocese  indulgences, 
benedictions,  and  "participation  in  all  spiritual 
blessings  for  ever,"  to  all  who  would  promote  the 
bridging  of  that  dangerous  ford ;  and  so,  consult- 
ing alike  the  interests  of  their  souls  and  of  their 
bodies,  "make  the  best  of  both  worlds." 

All  do  not  know,  nor  do  I,  that  "though  the 
foundation  of  the  bridge  is  laid  upon  wool,  yet  it 
shakes  at  the  slightest  step  of  a  horse;"  or  that, 
"  though  it  has  twenty-three  arches,  yet  one  Wm. 
Alford  (another  Milo)  carried  on  his  back  for  a 
wager  four  bushels  salt-water  measure,  all  the 
length  thereof;"  or  that  the  bridge  is  a  veritable 
esquire,  bearing  arms  of  its  own  (a  ship  and 
bridge  proper  on  a  plain  field),  and  owning  lands 
and  tenements  in  many  parishes,  with  which  the 
said  miraculous  bridge  has,  from  time  to  time, 
founded  charities,  built  schools,  waged  suits  at 
law,  and  finally  (for  this  concerns  us  most)  given 
yearly  dinners,  and  kept  for  that  purpose  (luxu- 
rious and  liquorish  bridge  that  it  was)  the  best 
stocked  cellar  of  wines  in  all  Devon. 

To  one  of  these  dinners,  as  it  happened,  were 
invited  in  the  year  1583  all  the  notabilities  of 
Bideford,  and  beside  them  Mr.  St.  Leger  of 
Annery  close  by,  brother  of  the  marshal  of 
Munster,  and  of  Lady  Grenville ;  a  most  worthy 
and  hospitable  gentleman,  who,  finding  riches  a 
snare,  parted  with  them  so  freely  to  all  his  neigh- 


How  Bideford  Bridge  Dined        363 

bors  as  long  as  he  lived,  that  he  effectually  pre- 
vented his  children  after  him  from  falling  into 
the  temptations  thereunto  incident. 

Between  him  and  one  of  the  bridge  trustees 
arose  an  argument,  whether  a  salmon  caught 
below  the  bridge  was  better  or  worse  than  one 
caught  above ;  and  as  that  weighty  question  could 
only  be  decided  by  practical  experiment,  Mr. 
St.  Leger  vowed  that  as  the  bridge  had  given  him 
a  good  dinner,  he  would  give  the  bridge  one; 
offered  a  bet  of  five  pounds  that  he  would  find 
them,  out  of  the  pool  below  Annery,  as  firm  and 
flaky  a  salmon  as  the  Appledore  one  which  they 
had  just  eaten;  and  then,  in  the  fulness  of  his 
heart,  invited  the  whole  company  present  to  dine 
with  him  at  Annery  three  days  after,  and  bring 
with  them  each  a  wife  or  daughter;  and  Don 
Guzman  being  at  table,  he  was  invited  too. 

So  there  was  a  mighty  feast  in  the  great  hall  at 
Annery,  such  as  had  seldom  been  since  Judge 
Hankford  feasted  Edward  the  Fourth  there;  and 
while  every  one  was  eating  their  best  and  drink- 
ing their  worst,  Rose  Salterne  and  Don  Guzman 
were  pretending  not  to  see  each  other,  and  watch- 
ing each  other  all  the  more.  But  Rose,  at  least, 
had  to  be  very  careful  of  her  glances;  for  not 
only  was  her  father  at  the  table,  but  just  opposite 
her  sat  none  other  than  Messrs.  William  Gary 
and  Arthur  St.  Leger,  lieutenants  in  her  maj- 
esty's Irish  army,  who  had  returned  on  furlough 
a  few  days  before. 

Rose  Salterne  and  the  Spaniard  had  not  ex- 
changed a  word  in  the  last  six  months,  though 
they  had  met  many  times.  The  Spaniard  by  no 
means  avoided  her  company,  except  in  her  father's 


364  Westward  Ho ! 

house;  he  only  took  care  to  obey  her  carefully, 
by  seeming  always  unconscious  of  her  presence, 
beyond  the  stateliest  of  salutes  at  entering  and 
departing.  But  he  took  care,  at  the  same  time, 
to  lay  himself  out  to  the  very  best  advantage 
whenever  he  was  in  her  presence;  to  be  more 
witty,  more  eloquent,  more  romantic,  more  full 
of  wonderful  tales  than  he  ever  yet  had  been. 
The  cunning  Don  had  found  himself  foiled  in  his 
first  tactic;  and  he  was  now  trying  another,  and 
a  far  more  formidable  one.  In  the  first  place, 
Rose  deserved  a  very  severe  punishment,  for  hav- 
ing dared  to  refuse  the  love  of  a  Spanish  noble- 
man; and  what  greater  punishment  could  he 
inflict  than  withdrawing  the  honor  of  his  atten- 
tions, and  the  sunshine  of  his  smiles?  There 
was  conceit  enough  in  that  notion,  but  there  was 
cunning  too;  for  none  knew  better  than  the 
Spaniard,  that  women,  like  the  world,  are  pretty 
sure  to  value  a  man  (especially  if  there  be  any 
real  worth  in  him)  at  his  own  price ;  and  that  the 
more  he  demands  for  himself,  the  more  they  will 
give  for  him. 

And  now  he  would  put  a  high  price  on  himself, 
and  pique  her  pride,  as  she  was  too  much  accus- 
tomed to  worship,  to  be  won  by  flattering  it. 
He  might  have  done  that  by  paying  attention  to 
some  one  else :  but  he  was  too  wise  to  employ  so 
coarse  a  method,  which  might  raise  indignation, 
or  disgust,  or  despair  in  Rose's  heart,  but  would 
have  never  brought  her  to  his  feet  —  as  it  will 
never  bring  any  woman  worth  bringing.  So  he 
quietly  and  unobtrusively  showed  her  that  he 
could  do  without  her;  and  she,  poor  fool,  as  she 
was  meant  to  do,  began  forthwith  to  ask  herself 


How  Bideford  Bridge  Dined        365 

—  why  ?  What  was  the  hidden  treasure,  what 
was  the  reserve  force,  which  made  him  indepen- 
dent of  her,  while  she  could  not  say  that  she  was 
independent  of  him?  Had  he  a  secret?  how 
pleasant  to  know  it !  Some  huge  ambition  ?  how 
pleasant  to  share  in  it !  Some  mysterious  knowl- 
edge? how  pleasant  to  learn  it!  Some  capacity 
of  love  beyond  the  common?  how  delicious  to 
have  it  all  for  her  own!  He  must  be  greater, 
wiser,  richer-hearted  than  she  was,  as  well  as 
better-born.  Ah,  if  his  wealth  would  but  supply 
her  poverty!  And  so,  step  by  step,  she  was 
being  led  to  sue  in  formd  pauperis  to  the  very 
man  whom  she  had  spurned  when  he  sued  in  like 
form  to  her.  That  temptation  of  having  some 
mysterious  private  treasure,  of  being  the  priestess 
of  some  hidden  sanctuary,  and  being  able  to 
thank  Heaven  that  she  was  not  as  other  women 
are,  was  becoming  fast  too  much  for  Rose,  as  it 
is  too  much  for  most.  For  none  knew  better 
than  the  Spaniard  how  much  more  fond  women 
are,  by  the  very  law  of  their  sex,  of  worshipping 
than  of  being  worshipped,  and  of  obeying  than  of 
being  obeyed;  how  their  coyness,  often  their 
scorn,  is  but  a  mask  to  hide  their  consciousness 
of  weakness;  and  a  mask,  too,  of  which  they 
themselves  will  often  be  the  first  to  tire. 

And  Rose  was  utterly  tired  of  that  same  mask 
as  she  sat  at  table  at  Annery  that  day;  and  Don 
Guzman  saw  it  in  her  uneasy  and  downcast  looks, 
and  thinking  (conceited  coxcomb)  that  she  must 
be  by  now  sufficiently  punished,  stole  a  glance  at 
her  now  and  then,  and  was  not  abashed  when  he 
saw  that  she  dropped  her  eyes  when  they  met  his, 
because  he  saw  her  silence  and  abstraction  in- 


366  Westward  Hot 

crease,  and  something  like  a  blush  steal  into  her 
cheeks.  So  he  pretended  to  be  as  much  down- 
cast and  abstracted  as  she  was,  and  went  on  with 
his  glances,  till  he  once  found  her,  poor  thing, 
looking  at  him  to  see  if  he  was  looking  at  her; 
and  then  he  knew  his  prey  was  safe,  and  asked 
her,  with  his  eyes,  "Do  you  forgive  me?"  and 
saw  her  stop  dead  in  her  talk  to  her  next  neigh- 
bor, and  falter,  and  drop  her  eyes,  and  raise  them 
again  after  a  minute  in  search  of  his,  that  he 
might  repeat  the  pleasant  question.  And  then 
what  could  she  do  but  answer  with  all  her  face 
and  every  bend  of  her  pretty  neck,  "  And  do  you 
forgive  me  in  turn?" 

Whereon  Don  Guzman  broke  out  jubilant,  like 
nightingale  on  bough,  with  story,  and  jest,  and 
repartee;  and  became  forthwith  the  soul  of  the 
whole  company,  and  the  most  charming  of  all 
cavaliers.  And  poor  Rose  knew  that  she  was 
the  cause  of  his  sudden  change  of  mood,  and 
blamed  herself  for  what  she  had  done,  and  shud- 
dered and  blushed  at  her  own  delight,  and  longed 
that  the  feast  was  over,  that  she  might  hurry 
home  and  hide  herself  alone  with  sweet  fancies 
about  a  love  the  reality  of  which  she  felt  she 
dared  not  face. 

It  was  a  beautiful  sight,  the  great  terrace  at 
Annery  that  afternoon ;  with  the  smart  dames  in 
their  gaudy  dresses  parading  up  and  down  in  twos 
and  threes  before  the  stately  house;  or  looking 
down  upon  the  park,  with  the  old  oaks,  and  the 
deer,  and  the  broad  land-locked  river  spread  out 
like  a  lake  beneath,  all  bright  in  the  glare  of 
the  midsummer  sun;  or  listening  obsequiously  to 
the  two  great  ladies  who  did  the  honors,  Mrs. 


How  Bideford  Bridge  Dined        367 

St.  Leger  the  hostess,  and  her  sister-in-law,  fair 
Lady  Grenville.  All  chatted,  and  laughed,  and 
eyed  each  other's  dresses,  and  gossiped  about 
each  other's  husbands  and  servants:  only  Rose 
Saltern e  kept  apart,  and  longed  to  get  into  a 
corner  and  laugh  or  cry,  she  knew  not  which. 

"Our  pretty  Rose  seems  sad,"  said  Lady  Gren- 
ville, coming  up  to  her.  "Cheer  up,  child!  we 
want  you  to  come  and  sing  to  us." 

Rose  answered  she  knew  not  what,  and  obeyed 
mechanically. 

She  took  the  lute,  and  sat  down  on  a  bench 
beneath  the  house,  while  the  rest  grouped  them- 
selves round  her. 

"What  shall  I  sing?" 

"  Let  us  have  your  old  song,  '  Earl  Haldan's 
Daughter. ' ' 

Rose  shrank  from  it.  It  was  a  loud  and  dash- 
ing ballad,  which  chimed  in  but  little  with  her 
thoughts ;  and  Frank  had  praised  it  too,  in  hap- 
pier days  long  since  gone  by.  She  thought  of 
him,  and  of  others,  and  of  her  pride  and  careless- 
ness; and  the  song  seemed  ominous  to  her:  and 
yet  for  that  very  reason  she  dared  not  refuse  to 
sing  it,  for  fear  of  suspicion  where  no  one  sus- 
pected ;  and  so  she  began  per  force  — 


"  It  was  Earl  Haldan's  daughter, 

She  look'd  across  the  sea ; 

She  look'd  across  the  water, 

And  long  and  loud  laugh 'd  she ; 

'  The  locks  of  six  princesses 

Must  be  my  marriage-fee, 
So  hey  bonny  boat,  and  ho  bonny  boat! 

Who  comes  a  wooing  me  ? ' 


368  Westward  Ho ! 

ii. 

"  It  was  Earl  Haldan's  daughter, 
She  walk'd  along  the  sand; 
When  she  was  aware  of  a  knight  so  fair, 
Come  sailing  to  the  land. 
His  sails  were  all  of  velvet, 
His  mast  of  beaten  gold, 
And  '  hey  bonny  boat,  and  ho  bonny  boat. 
Who  saileth  here  so  bold  ? ' 


in. 

"  *  The  locks  of  five  princesses 

I  won  beyond  the  sea  ; 

I  shore  their  golden  tresses, 

To  fringe  a  cloak  for  thee. 

One  handful  yet  is  wanting, 

But  one  of  all  the  tale ; 
So  hey  bonny  boat,  and  ho  bonny  boat ! 

Furl  up  thy  velvet  sail ! ' 

IV. 

44  He  leapt  into  the  water, 
That  rover  young  and  bold ; 
He  gript  Earl  Haldan's  daughter, 
He  shore  her  locks  of  gold ; 
1  Go  weep,  go  weep,  proud  maiden, 
The  tale  is  full  to-day. 
Now  hey  bonny  boat,  and  ho  bonny  boat ! 
Sail  Westward-ho,  and  away ! ' " 

As  she  ceased,  a  measured  voice,  with  a  foreign 
accent,  thrilled  through  her. 

"In  the  East,  they  say  the  nightingale  sings 
to  the  rose ;  Devon,  more  happy,  has  nightingale 
and  rose  in  one. " 

"We  have  no  nightingales  in  Devon,  Don 
Guzman,"  said  Lady  Grenville;  "but  our  little 
forest  thrushes  sing,  as  you  hear,  sweetly  enough 


How  Bideford  Bridge  Dined        369 

to  content  any  ear.     But  what  brings  you  away 
from  the  gentlemen  so  early?" 

"These  letters,"  said  he,  "which  have  just 
been  put  into  my  hand ;  and  as  they  call  me  home 
to  Spain,  I  was  loath  to  lose  a  moment  of  that 
delightful  company  from  which  I  must  part  so 
soon. " 

"  To  Spain  ? "  asked  half-a-dozen  voices :  for  the 
Don  was  a  general  favorite. 

"Yes,  and  thence  to  the  Indies.  My  ransom 
has  arrived,  and  with  it  the  promise  of  an  office. 
I  am  to  be  Governor  of  La  Guayra  in  Caracas. 
Congratulate  me  on  my  promotion." 

A  mist  was  over  Rose's  eyes.  The  Spaniard's 
voice  was  hard  and  flippant.  Did  he  care  for  her, 
after  all?  And  if  he  did,  was  it  nevertheless 
hopeless  ?  How  her  cheeks  glowed !  Everybody 
must  see  it  1  Anything  to  turn  away  their  atten- 
tion from  her,  and  in  that  nervous  haste  which 
makes  people  speak,  and  speak  foolishly  too,  just 
because  they  ought  to  be  silent,  she  asked  — 

"And  where  is  La  Guayra?" 

"Half  round  the  world,  on  the  coast  of  the 
Spanish  Main.  The  loveliest  place  on  earth, 
and  the  loveliest  governor's  house,  in  a  forest  of 
palms  at  the  foot  of  a  mountain  eight  thousand 
feet  high :  I  shall  only  want  a  wife  there  to  be  in 
paradise." 

"I  don't  doubt  that  you  may  persuade  some 
fair  lady  of  Seville  to  accompany  you  thither," 
said  Lady  Grenville. 

"Thanks,  gracious  madam:  but  the  truth  is, 
that  since  I  have  had  the  bliss  of  knowing  Eng- 
lish ladies,  I  have  begun  to  think  that  they  are 
the  only  ones  on  earth  worth  wooing." 


370  Westward  Ho ! 

"A  thousand  thanks  for  the  compliment;  but 
I  fear  none  of  our  free  English  maidens  would 
like  to  submit  to  the  guardianship  of  a  duenna. 
Eh,  Rose  ?  how  should  you  like  to  be  kept  under 
lock  and  key  all  day  by  an  ugly  old  woman  with 
a  horn  on  her  forehead  ?  " 

Poor  Rose  turned  so  scarlet  that  Lady  Gren- 
ville  knew  her  secret  on  the  spot,  and  would 
have  tried  to  turn  the  conversation:  but  before 
she  could  speak,  some  burgher's  wife  blundered 
out  a  commonplace  about  the  jealousy  of  Spanish 
husbands;  and  another,  to  make  matters  better, 
giggled  out  something  more  true  than  delicate 
about  West  Indian  masters  and  fair  slaves. 

"Ladies,"  said  Don  Guzman,  reddening,  "be- 
lieve me  that  these  are  but  the  calumnies  of 
ignorance.  If  we  be  more  jealous  than  other 
nations,  it  is  because  we  love  more  passionately. 
If  some  of  us  abroad  are  profligate,  it  is  because 
they,  poor  men,  have  no  helpmate,  which,  like 
the  amethyst,  keeps  its  wearer  pure.  I  could  tell 
you  stories,  ladies,  of  the  constancy  and  devotion 
of  Spanish  husbands,  even  in  the  Indies,  as 
strange  as  ever  romancer  invented." 

"  Can  you  ?  Then  we  challenge  you  to  give  us 
one  at  least. " 

"  I  fear  it  would  be  too  long,  madam. " 

"The  longer  the  more  pleasant,  sefior.  How 
can  we  spend  an  hour  better  this  afternoon,  while 
the  gentlemen  within  are  finishing  their  wine?  " 

Story-telling,  in  those  old  times,  when  books 
(and  authors  also,  lucky  for  the  public)  were 
rarer  than  now,  was  a  common  amusement;  and 
as  the  Spaniard's  accomplishments  in  that  line 
were  well  known,  all  the  ladies  crowded  round 


How  Bideford  Bridge  Dined        371 

him;  the  servants  brought  chairs  and  benches; 
and  Don  Guzman,  taking  his  seat  in  the  midst, 
with  a  proud  humility,  at  Lady  Grenville's  feet, 
began  — 

"Your  perfections,  fair  and  illustrious  ladies, 
must  doubtless  have  heard,  ere  now,  how  Sebas- 
tian Cabota,  some  forty-five  years  ago,  sailed 
forth  with  a  commission  from  my  late  master,  the 
Emperor  Charles  the  Fifth,  to  discover  the 
golden  lands  of  Tarshish,  Ophir,  and  Cipango; 
but  being  in  want  of  provisions,  stopped  short  at 
the  mouth  of  that  mighty  South  American  river 
to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  Rio  de  la  Plata, 
and  sailing  up  it,  discovered  the  fair  land  of 
Paraguay.  But  you  may  not  have  heard  how,  on 
the  bank  of  that  river,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Rio 
Terceiro,  he  built  a  fort  which  men  still  call 
Cabot's  Tower;  nor  have  you,  perhaps,  heard  of 
the  strange  tale  which  will  ever  make  the  tower 
a  sacred  spot  to  all  true  lovers. 

"  For  when  he  returned  to  Spain  the  year  after, 
he  left  in  his  tower  a  garrison  of  a  hundred  and 
twenty  men,  under  the  command  of  Nuflo  de 
Lara,  Ruiz  Moschera,  and  Sebastian  da  Hurtado, 
old  friends  and  fellow-soldiers  of  my  invincible 
grandfather  Don  Ferdinando  da  Soto;  and  with 
them  a  jewel,  than  which  Spain  never  possessed 
one  more  precious,  Lucia  Miranda,  the  wife  of 
Hurtado,  who,  famed  in  the  court  of  the  emperor 
no  less  for  her  wisdom  and  modesty  than  for  her 
unrivalled  beauty,  had  thrown  up  all  the  pomp 
and  ambition  of  a  palace,  to  marry  a  poor  adven- 
turer, and  to  encounter  with  him  the  hardships  of 
a  voyage  round  the  world.  Mangora,  the  cacique 
of  the  neighboring  Timbuez  Indians  (with  whom 


372  Westward  Ho! 

Lara  had  contrived  to  establish  a  friendship),  cast 
his  eyes  on  this  fair  creature,  and  no  sooner  saw 
than  he  coveted;  no  sooner  coveted  than  he 
plotted,  with  the  devilish  subtilty  of  a  savage,  to 
seize  by  force  what  he  knew  he  could  never  gain 
by  right.  She  soon  found  out  his  passion  (she 
was  wise  enough  —  what  every  woman  is  not  —  to 
know  when  she  is  loved),  and  telling  her  hus- 
band, kept  as  much  as  she  could  out  of  her  new 
lover's  sight;  while  the  savage  pressed  Hurtado 
to  come  and  visit  him,  and  to  bring  his  lady  with 
him.  Hurtado,  suspecting  the  snare,  and  yet 
fearing  to  offend  the  cacique,  excused  himself 
courteously  on  the  score  of  his  soldier's  duty; 
and  the  savage,  mad  with  desire  and  disappoint- 
ment, began  plotting  against  Hurtado's  life. 

"So  went  on  several  weeks,  till  food  grew 
scarce,  and  Don  Hurtado  and  Don  Ruiz  Moschera, 
with  fifty  soldiers,  were  sent  up  the  river  on  a 
foraging  party.  Mangora  saw  his  opportunity, 
and  leapt  at  it  forthwith. 

"The  tower,  ladies,  as  I  have  heard  from  those 
who  have  seen  it,  stands  on  a  knoll  at  the  meet- 
ing of  the  two  rivers,  while  on  the  land  side 
stretches  a  dreary  marsh,  covered  with  tall  grass 
and  bushes ;  a  fit  place  for  the  ambuscade  of  four 
thousand  Indians,  which  Mangora,  with  devilish 
cunning,  placed  around  the  tower,  while  he  him- 
self went  boldly  up  to  it,  followed  by  thirty  men, 
laden  with  grain,  fruit,  game,  and  all  the  deli- 
cacies which  his  forests  could  afford. 

"There,  with  a  smiling  face,  he  told  the  unsus- 
pecting Lara  his  sorrow  for  the  Spaniards'  want 
of  food  ;  besought  him  to  accept  the  provision  he 
had  brought,  and  was,  as  he  had  expected,  invited 


How  Bideford  Bridge  Dined         373 

by   Lara   to    come    in   and   taste  the    wines   of 
Spain. 

"  In  went  he  and  his  thirty  fellow-bandits,  and 
the  feast  continued,  with  songs  and  libations,  far 
into  the  night,  while  Mangora  often  looked  round, 
and  at  last  boldly  asked  for  the  fair  Miranda:  but 
she  had  shut  herself  into  her  lodging,  pleading 
illness. 

"A  plea,  fair  ladies,  which  little  availed  that 
hapless  dame,  for  no  sooner  had  the  Spaniards 
retired  to  rest,  leaving  (by  I  know  not  what  mad- 
ness) Mangora  and  his  Indians  within,  than  they 
were  awakened  by  the  cry  of  fire,  the  explosion  of 
their  magazine,  and  the  inward  rush  of  the  four 
thousand  from  the  marsh  outside. 

"Why  pain  your  gentle  ears  with  details  of 
slaughter?  A  few  fearful  minutes  sufficed  to 
exterminate  my  bewildered  and  unarmed  country- 
men, to  bind  the  only  survivors,  Miranda  (inno- 
cent cause  of  the  whole  tragedy)  and  four  other 
women  with  their  infants,  and  to  lead  them  away  in 
triumph  across  the  forest  towards  the  Indian  town. 

"Stunned  by  the  suddenness  of  the  evils  which 
had  passed,  and  still  more  by  the  thought  of  those 
worse  which  were  to  come  (as  she  too  well  fore- 
saw), Miranda  travelled  all  night  through  the 
forest,  and  was  brought  in  triumph  at  day-dawn 
before  the  Indian  king  to  receive  her  doom. 
Judge  of  her  astonishment,  when,  on  looking  up, 
she  saw  that  he  was  not  Mangora. 

"A  ray  of  hope  flashed  across  her,  and  she 
asked  where  he  was. 

"'  He  was  slain  last  night,'  said  the  king;  'and 
I,  his  brother  Siripa,  am  now  cacique  of  the 
Timbuez. ' 


374  Westward  Ho ! 

"It  was  true;  Lara,  maddened  with  drink, 
rage,  and  wounds,  had  caught  up  his  sword, 
rushed  into  the  thick  of  the  fight,  singled  out  the 
traitor,  and  slain  him  on  the  spot ;  and  then,  for- 
getting safety  in  revenge,  had  continued  to  plunge 
his  sword  into  the  corpse,  heedless  of  the  blows 
of  the  savages,  till  he  fell  pierced  with  a  hundred 
wounds. 

"A  ray  of  hope,  as  I  said,  flashed  across  the 
wretched  Miranda  for  a  moment;  but  the  next 
she  found  that  she  had  been  freed  from  one  bandit 
•only  to  be  delivered  to  another. 

" '  Yes, '  said  the  new  king,  in  broken  Spanish ; 
'  my  brother  played  a  bold  stake,  and  lost  it ;  but 
it  was  well  worth  the  risk,  and  he  showed  his 
wisdom  thereby.  You  cannot  be  his  queen  now: 
you  must  content  yourself  with  being  mine. ' 

"  Miranda,  desperate,  answered  him  with  every 
fierce  taunt  which  she  could  invent  against  his 
treachery  and  his  crime ;  and  asked  him,  how  he 
came  to  dream  that  the  wife  of  a  Christian 
Spaniard  would  condescend  to  become  the  mis- 
tress of  a  heathen  savage ;  hoping,  unhappy  lady, 
to  exasperate  him  into  killing  her  on  the  spot. 
But  in  vain ;  she  only  prolonged  thereby  her  own 
misery.  For,  whether  it  was,  ladies,  that  the 
novel  sight  of  divine  virtue  and  beauty  awed  (as 
it  may  have  awed  me  ere  now),  where  it  had  just 
before  maddened ;  or  whether  some  dream  crossed 
the  savage  (as  it  may  have  crossed  me  ere  now), 
that  he  could  make  the  wisdom  of  a  mortal  angel 
help  his  ambition,  as  well  as  her  beauty  his  hap- 
piness ;  or  whether  (which  I  will  never  believe  of 
one  of  those  dark  children  of  the  devil,  though  I 
can  boldly  assert  it  of  myself)  some  spark  of 


How  Bideford  Bridge  Dined        375 

boldness  within  him  made  him  too  proud  to  take 
by  force  what  he  could  not  win  by  persuasion, 
certain  it  is,  as  the  Indians  themselves  confessed 
afterwards,  that  the  savage  only  answered  her  by 
smiles;  and  bidding  his  men  unbind  her,  told 
her  that  she  was  no  slave  of  his,  and  that  it  only 
lay  with  her  to  become  the  sovereign  of  him  and 
all  his  vassals;  assigned  her  a  hut  to  herself, 
loaded  her  with  savage  ornaments,  and  for  several 
weeks  treated  her  with  no  less  courtesy  (so  mirac- 
ulous is  the  power  of  love)  than  if  he  had  been  a 
cavalier  of  Castile. 

"Three  months  and  more,  ladies,  as  I  have 
heard,  passed  in  this  misery,  and  every  day 
Miranda  grew  more  desperate  of  all  deliverance, 
and  saw  staring  her  in  the  face,  nearer  and  nearer, 
some  hideous  and  shameful  end;  when  one  day 
going  down  with  the  wives  of  the  cacique  to 
draw  water  in  the  river,  she  saw  on  the  opposite 
bank  a  white  man  in  a  tattered  Spanish  dress, 
with  a  drawn  sword  in  his  hand;  who  had  no 
sooner  espied  her,  than  shrieking  her  name,  he 
plunged  into  the  stream,  swam  across,  landed  at 
her  feet,  and  clasped  her  in  his  arms.  It  was  no 
other,  ladies,  incredible  as  it  may  seem,  than 
Don  Sebastian  himself,  who  had  returned  with 
Ruiz  Moschera  to  the  tower,  and  found  it  only  a 
charred  and  bloodstained  heap  of  ruins. 

"He  guessed,  as  by  inspiration,  what  had 
passed,  and  whither  his  lady  was  gone;  and  with- 
out a  thought  of  danger,  like  a  true  Spanish 
gentleman  and  a  true  Spanish  lover,  darted  off 
alone  into  the  forest,  and  guided  only  by  the  in- 
spiration of  his  own  loyal  heart,  found  again  his 
treasure,  and  found  it  still  unstained  and  his  own. 


37 '6  Westward  Ho  ! 

"  Who  can  describe  the  joy,  and  who  again  the 
terror,  of  their  meeting?  The  Indian  women  had 
fled  in  fear,  and  for  the  short  ten  minutes  that  the 
lovers  were  left  together,  life,  to  be  sure,  was  one 
long  kiss.  But  what  to  do  they  knew  not.  To 
go  inland  was  to  rush  into  the  enemy's  arms.  He 
would  have  swum  with  her  across  the  river,  and 
attempted  it ;  but  his  strength,  worn  out  with  hun- 
ger and  travel,  failed  him;  he  drew  her  with  diffi- 
culty on  shore  again,  and  sat  down  by  her  to  await 
their  doom  with  prayer,  the  first  and  last  resource 
of  virtuous  ladies,  as  weapons  are  of  cavaliers. 

"  Alas  for  them  !  May  no  true  lovers  ever  have 
to  weep  over  joys  so  soon  lost,  after  having  been 
so  hardly  found !  For,  ere  a  quarter  of  an  hour 
was  passed,  the  Indian  women,  who  had  fled  at 
his  approach,  returned  with  all  the  warriors  of 
the  tribe.  Don  Sebastian,  desperate,  would  fain 
have  slain  his  wife  and  himself  on  the  spot ;  but 
his  hand  sank  again  —  and  whose  would  not  but 
an  Indian's?  —  as  he  raised  it  against  that  fair 
and  faithful  breast;  in  a  few  minutes  he  was  sur- 
rounded, seized  from  behind,  disarmed,  and  car- 
ried in  triumph  into  the  village.  And  if  you 
cannot  feel  for  him  in  that  misery,  fair  ladies, 
who  have  known  no  sorrow,  yet  I,  a  prisoner, 
can." 

Don  Guzman  paused  a  moment,  as  if  overcome 
by  emotion;  and  I  will  not  say  that,  as  he 
paused, 'he  did  not  look  to  see  if  Rose  Salterne's 
eyes  were  on  him,  as  indeed  they  were. 

"Yes,  I  can  feel  with  him;  I  can  estimate, 
better  than  you,  ladies,  the  greatness  of  that  love 
which  could  submit  to  captivity;  to  the  loss  of 
his  sword ;  to  the  loss  of  that  honor,  which,  next 


How  Bideford  Bridge  Dined        377 

to  God  and  his  mother,  is  the  true  Spaniard's  deity. 
There  are  those  who  have  suffered  that  shame  at 
the  hands  of  valiant  gentlemen  "  (and  again  Don 
Guzman  looked  up  at  Rose),  "  and  yet  would  have 
sooner  died  a  thousand  deaths;  but  he  dared  to 
endure  it  from  the  hands  of  villains,  savages, 
heathens ;  for  he  was  a  true  Spaniard,  and  there- 
fore a  true  lover:  but  I  will  go  on  with  my  tale. 

"This  wretched  pair,  then,  as  I  have  been  told 
by  Ruiz  Moschera  himself,  stood  together  before 
the  cacique.  He,  like  a  true  child  of  the  devil, 
comprehending  in  a  moment  who  Don  Sebastian 
was,  laughed  with  delight  at  seeing  his  rival  in 
his  power,  and  bade  bind  him  at  once  to  a  tree, 
and  shoot  him  to  death  with  arrows. 

"But  the  poor  Miranda  sprang  forward,  and 
threw  herself  at  his  feet,  and  with  piteous  en- 
treaties besought  for  mercy  from  him  who  knew 
no  mercy. 

"  And  yet  love  and  the  sight  of  her  beauty,  and 
the  terrible  eloquence  of  her  words,  while  she  in- 
voked on  his  head  the  just  vengeance  of  Heaven, 
wrought  even  on  his  heart:  nevertheless  the 
pleasure  of  seeing  her,  who  had  so  long  scorned 
him,  a  suppliant  at  his  feet,  was  too  delicate  to 
be  speedily  foregone;  and  not  till  she  was  all 
but  blind  with  tears,  and  dumb  with  agony  of 
pleading,  did  he  make  answer,  that  if  she  would 
consent  to  become  his  wife,  her  husband's  life 
should  be  spared.  She,  in  her  haste  and  mad- 
ness, sobbed  out  desperately  I  know  not  what 
consent.  Don  Sebastian,  who  understood,  if  not 
the  language,  still  the  meaning  (so  had  love 
quickened  his  understanding),  shrieked  to  her 
not  to  lose  her  precious  soul  for  the  sake  of  his 

Vol.  8-17 


378  Westward  Ho ! 

worthless  body;  that  death  was  nothing  com- 
pared to  the  horror  of  that  shame;  and  such 
other  words  as  became  a  noble  and  valiant  gentle- 
man. She,  shuddering  now  at  her  own  frailty, 
would  have  recalled  her  promise;  but  Siripa  kept 
her  to  it,  vowing,  if  she  disappointed  him  again, 
such  a  death  to  her  husband  as  made  her  blood 
run  cold  to  hear  of;  and  the  wretched  woman 
could  only  escape  for  the  present  by  some  story, 
that  it  was  not  the  custom  of  her  race  to  cele- 
brate nuptials  till  a  month  after  the  betrothment; 
that  the  anger  of  Heaven  would  be  on  her,  unless 
she  first  performed  in  solitude  certain  religious 
rites ;  and  lastly,  that  if  he  dared  to  lay  hands  on 
her  husband,  she  would  die  so  resolutely,  that 
every  drop  of  water  should  be  deep  enough  to 
drown  her,  every  thorn  sharp  enough  to  stab  her 
to  the  heart :  till  fearing  lest  by  demanding  too 
much  he  should  lose  all,  and  awed  too,  as  he  had 
been  at  first  by  a  voice  and  looks  which  seemed 
to  be,  in  comparison  with  his  own,  divine,  Siripa 
bade  her  go  back  to  her  hut,  promising  her  hus- 
band life;  but  promising  too,  that  if  he  ever 
found  the  two  speaking  together,  even  for  a 
moment,  he  would  pour  out  on  them  both  all  the 
cruelty  of  those  tortures  in  which  the  devil,  their 
father,  has  so  perfectly  instructed  the  Indians. 

"So  Don  Sebastian,  being  stripped  of  his  gar- 
ments, and  painted  after  the  Indian  fashion,  was 
set  to  all  mean  and  toilsome  work,  amid  the 
buffetings  and  insults  of  the  whole  village.  And 
this,  ladies,  he  endured  without  a  murmur,  ay, 
took  delight  in  enduring  it,  as  he  would  have 
endured  things  worse  a  thousand  times,  only  for 
the  sake,  like  a  true  lover  as  he  was,  of  being 


How  Bideford  Bridge  Dined        379 

near  the  goddess  whom  he  worshipped,  and  of 
seeing  her  now  and  then  afar  off,  happy  enough 
to  be  repaid  even  by  that  for  all  indignities. 

"  And  yet,  you  who  have  loved  may  well  guess, 
as  I  can,  that  ere  a  week  had  passed,  Don  Sebas- 
tian and  the  Lady  Miranda  had  found  means,  in 
spite  of  all  spiteful  eyes,  to  speak  to  each  other 
once  and  again ;  and  to  assure  each  other  of  their 
love;  even  to  talk  of  escape,  before  the  month's 
grace  should  be  expired.  And  Miranda,  whose 
heart  was  full  of  courage  as  long  as  she  felt  her 
husband  near  her,  went  so  far  as  to  plan  a  means 
of  escape  which  seemed  possible  and  hopeful. 

"For  the  youngest  wife  of  the  cacique,  who, 
till  Miranda's  coming,  had  been  his  favorite, 
often  talked  with  the  captive,  insulting  and  tor- 
menting her  in  her  spite  and  jealousy,  and  receiv- 
ing in  return  only  gentle  and  conciliatory  words. 
And  one  day  when  the  woman  had  been  threaten- 
ing to  kill  her,  Miranda  took  courage  to  say,  '  Do 
you  fancy  that  I  shall  not  be  as  glad  to  be  rid  of 
your  husband,  as  you  to  be  rid  of  me?  Why  kill 
me  needlessly,  when  all  that  you  require  is  to  get 
me  forth  of  the  place?  Out  of  sight,  out  of 
mind.  When  I  am  gone,  your  husband  will  soon 
forget  me,  and  you  will  be  his  favorite  as  before.' 
Soon,  seeing  that  the  girl  was  inclined  to  listen, 
she  went  on  to  tell  her  of  her  love  to  Don  Sebas- 
tian, entreating  and  adjuring  her,  by  the  love 
which  she  bore  the  cacique,  to  pity  and  help 
her;  and  so  won  upon  the  girl,  that  she  con- 
sented to  be  privy  to  Miranda's  escape,  and  even 
offered  to  give  her  an  opportunity  of  speaking  to 
her  husband  about  it;  and  at  last  was  so  won 
over  by  Miranda,  that  she  consented  to  keep  all 


380  Westward  Ho  ! 

intruders  out  of  the  way,  while  Don  Sebastian 
that  very  night  visited  Miranda  in  her  hut. 

"The  hapless  husband,  thirsting  for  his  love, 
was  in  that  hut,  be  sure,  the  moment  that  kind 
darkness  covered  his  steps :  —  and  what  cheer 
these  two  made  of  each  other,  when  they  once 
found  themselves  together,  lovers  must  fancy  for 
themselves:  but  so  it  was,  that  after  many  a 
leave-taking,  there  was  no  departure;  and  when 
the  night  was  well-nigh  past,  Sebastian  and 
Miranda  were  still  talking  together  as  if  they 
had  never  met  before,  and  would  never  meet 
again. 

"But  it  befell,  ladies  (would  that  I  was  not 
speaking  truth,  but  inventing,  that  I  might  have 
invented  something  merrier  for  your  ears),  it 
befell  that  very  night,  that  the  young  wife  of  the 
cacique,  whose  heart  was  lifted  up  with  the 
thought  that  her  rival  was  now  at  last  disposed 
of,  tried  all  her  wiles  to  win  back  her  faithless 
husband;  but  in  vain.  He  only  answered  her 
caresses  by  indifference,  then  by  contempt,  then 
insults,  then  blows  (for  with  the  Indians,  woman 
is  always  a  slave,  or  rather  a  beast  of  burden), 
and  went  on  to  draw  such  cruel  comparisons 
between  her  dark  skin  and  the  glorious  fairness  of 
the  Spanish  lady,  that  the  wretched  girl,  beside 
herself  with  rage,  burst  out  at  last  with  her  own 
secret.  '  Fool  that  you  are  to  madden  yourself 
about  a  stranger  who  prizes  one  hair  of  her 
Spanish  husband's  head  more  than  your  .whole 
body !  Much  does  your  new  bride  care  for  you  ! 
She  is  at  this  moment  in  her  husband's  arms!' 

"The  cacique  screamed  furiously  to  know  what 
she  meant;  and  she,  her  jealousy  and  hate  of  the 


How  Bideford  Bridge  Dined        381 

guiltless   lady   boiling  over  once  for  all,   bade 
him,  if  he  doubted  her,  go  see  for  himself. 

"  What  use  of  many  words  ?  They  were  taken. 
Love,  or  rather  lust,  repelled,  turned  in  a  moment 
into  devilish  hate;  and  the  cacique,  summoning 
his  Indians,  bade  them  bind  the  wretched  Don 
Sebastian  to  a  tree,  and  there  inflicted  on  him 
the  lingering  death  to  which  he  had  at  first  been 
doomed.  For  Miranda  he  had  more  exquisite  cru- 
elty in  store.  And  shall  I  tell  it?  Yes,  ladies, 
for  the  honor  of  love  and  of  Spain,  and  for  a  jus- 
tification of  those  cruelties  against  the  Indians 
which  are  so  falsely  imputed  to  our  most  Chris- 
tian nation,  it  shall  be  told :  he  delivered  the 
wretched  lady  over  to  the  tender  mercies  of  his 
wives;  and  what  they  were  is  neither  fit  for  me 
to  tell,  nor  you  to  hear. 

"The  two  wretched  lovers  cast  themselves  upon 
each  other's  neck;  drank  each  other's  salt  tears 
with  the  last  kisses;  accused  themselves  as  the 
cause  of  each  other's  death;  and  then,  rising 
above  fear  and  grief,  broke  out  into  triumph  at 
thus  dying  for  and  with  each  other;  and  pro- 
claiming themselves  the  martyrs  of  love,  com- 
mended their  souls  to  God,  and  then  stepped 
joyfully  and  proudly  to  their  doom." 

"And  what  was  that?"  asked  half-a-dozen 
trembling  voices. 

"Don  Sebastian,  as  I  have  said,  was  shot  to 
death  with  arrows;  but  as  for  the  Lady  Miranda, 
the  wretches  themselves  confessed  afterwards, 
when  they  received  due  vengeance  for  their 
crimes  (as  they  did  receive  it),  that  after  all 
shameful  and  horrible  indignities,  she  was  bound 
to  a  tree,  and  there  burned  slowly  in  her  bus- 


382  Westward  Ho! 

band's  sight,  stifling  her  shrieks  lest  they  should 
wring  his  heart  by  one  additional  pang,  and  never 
taking  her  eyes,  to  the  last,  off  that  beloved  face. 
And  so  died  (but  not  unavenged)  Sebastian  de 
Hurtado  and  Lucia  Miranda,  —  a  Spanish  hus- 
band and  a  Spanish  wife." 

The  Don  paused,  and  the  ladies  were  silent 
awhile,  for,  indeed,  there  was  many  a  gentle  tear 
to  be  dried;  but  at  last  Mrs.  St.  Leger  spoke, 
half,  it  seemed,  to  turn  off  the  too  painful  impres- 
sion of  the  over-true  tale,  the  outlines  whereof 
may  be  still  read  in  old  Charlevoix. 

"  You  have  told  a  sad  and  a  noble  tale,  sir,  and 
told  it  well;  but,  though  your  story  was  to  set 
forth  a  perfect  husband,  it  has  ended  rather  by 
setting  forth  a  perfect  wife." 

"And  if  I  have  forgotten,  madam,  in  praising 
her  to  praise  him  also,  have  I  not  done  that 
which  would  have  best  pleased  his  heroical  and 
chivalrous  spirit  ?  He,  be  sure,  would  have  for- 
gotten his  own  virtue  in  the  light  of  hers;  and  he 
would  have  wished  me,  I  doubt  not,  to  do  the 
same  also.  And  beside,  madam,  where  ladies 
are  the  theme,  who  has  time  or  heart  to  cast  one 
thought  upon  their  slaves  ?  "  And  the  Don  made 
one  of  his  deliberate  and  highly-finished  bows. 

"Don  Guzman  is  courtier  enough,  as  far  as 
compliments  go,"  said  one  of  the  young  ladies; 
"but  it  was  hardly  courtier-like  of  him  to  find  us 
so  sad  an  entertainment,  upon  a  merry  evening." 

"Yes,"  said  another;  "we  must  ask  him  for  no 
more  stories. " 

"Or  songs  either,"  said  a  third.  "I  fear  he 
knows  none  but  about  forsaken  maidens  and 
despairing  lovers." 


How  Bideford  Bridge  Dined        383 

"  I  know  nothing  at  all  about  forsaken  ladies, 
madam;  because  ladies  are  never  forsaken  in 
Spain." 

"  Nor  about  lovers  despairing  there,  I  suppose  ? " 

"  That  good  opinion  of  ourselves,  madam,  with 
which  you  English  are  pleased  to  twit  us  now 
and  then,  always  prevents  so  sad  a  state  of  mind. 
For  myself,  I  have  had  little  to  do  with  love; 
but  I  have  had  still  less  to  do  with  despair,  and 
intend,  by  help  of  Heaven,  to  have  less." 

"You  are  valiant,  sir." 

"  You  would  not  have  me  a  coward,  madam  ? " 
and  so  forth. 

Now  all  this  time  Don  Guzman  had  been  talk- 
ing at  Rose  Salterne,  and  giving  her  the  very 
slightest  hint,  every  now  and  then,  that  he  was 
talking  at  her;  till  the  poor  girl's  face  was  almost 
crimson  with  pleasure,  and  she  gave  herself  up 
to  the  spell.  He  loved  her  still;  perhaps  he 
knew  that  she  loved  him :  he  must  know  some 
day.  She  felt  now  that  there  was  no  escape ;  she 
was  almost  glad  to  think  that  there  was  none. 

The  dark,  handsome,  stately  face;  the  melodious 
voice,  with  its  rich  Spanish  accent;  the  quiet 
grace  of  the  gestures;  the  wild  pathos  of  the 
story;  even  the  measured  and  inflated  style,  as 
of  one  speaking  of  another  and  a  loftier  world; 
the  chivalrous  respect  and  admiration  for  woman, 
and  for  faithfulness  to  woman  —  what  a  man  he 
was !  If  he  had  been  pleasant  heretofore,  he  was 
now  enchanting.  All  the  ladies  round  felt  that, 
she  could  see,  as  much  as  she  herself  did;  no, 
not  quite  as  much,  she  hoped.  She  surely  under- 
stood him,  and  felt  for  his  loneliness  more  than 
any  of  them.  Had  she  not  been  feeling  for  it 


384  Westward  Ho! 

through  long  and  sad  months?  But  it  was  she 
whom  he  was  thinking  of,  she  whom  he  was 
speaking  to,  all  along.  Oh,  why  had  the  tale 
ended  so  soon  ?  She  would  gladly  have  sat  and 
wept  her  eyes  out  till  midnight  over  one  melo- 
dious misery  after  another;  but  she  was  quite 
wise  enough  to  keep  her  secret  to  herself;  and 
sat  behind  the  rest,  with  greedy  eyes  and  demure 
lips,  full  of  strange  and  new  happiness  —  or 
misery;  she  knew  not  which  to  call  it. 

In  the  meanwhile,  as  it  was  ordained,  Gary 
could  see  and  hear  through  the  window  of  the 
hall  a  good  deal  of  what  was  going  on. 

"  How  that  Spanish  crocodile  ogles  the  Rose ! " 
whispered  he  to  young  St.  Leger. 

"What  wonder?  He  is  not  the  first  by  many 
a  one. " 

"  Ay  —  but  —  By  heaven,  she  is  making  side- 
shots  at  him  with  those  languishing  eyes  of  hers, 
the  little  baggage ! " 

"What  wonder?  He  is  not  the  first,  say  I, 
and  won't  be  the  last.  Pass  the  wine,  man." 

"I  have  had  enough;  between  sack  and  sing- 
ing, my  head  is  as  mazed  as  a  dizzy  sheep.  Let 
me  slip  out." 

"Not  yet,  man;  remember  you  are  bound  for 
one  song  more." 

So  Gary,  against  his  will,  sat  and  sang  another 
song ;  and  in  the  meanwhile  the  party  had  broken 
up,  and  wandered  away  by  twos  and  threes,  among 
trim  gardens  and  pleasaunces,  and  clipped  yew- 
walks  — 

Where  west-winds  with  musky  wing 

About  the  cedarn  alleys  fling 

Nard  and  cassia's  balmy  smells " 


How  Bideford  Bridge  Dined        385 

admiring  the  beauty  of  that  stately  place,  long 
since  passed  into  other  hands,  and  fallen  to  decay, 
but  then  (if  old  Prince  speaks  true)  one  of  the 
noblest  mansions  of  the  West. 

At  last  Gary  got  away  and  out ;  sober,  but  just 
enough  flushed  with  wine  to  be  ready  for  any 
quarrel ;  and  luckily  for  him,  had  not  gone  twenty 
yards  along  the  great  terrace  before  he  met  Lady 
Grenville. 

"  Has  your  ladyship  seen  Don  Guzman  ?  " 

"Yes  —  why,  where  is  he?  He  was  with  me 
not  ten  minutes  ago.  You  know  he  is  going  back 
to  Spain. " 

"Going!     Has  his  ransom  come?" 

"Yes,  and  with  it  a  governorship  in  the 
Indies." 

"Governorship!  Much  good  may  it  do  the 
governed." 

"  Why  not,  then  ?  He  is  surely  a  most  gallant 
gentleman." 

"Gallant  enough  —  yes,"  said  Gary,  carelessly. 
"I  must  find  him,  and  congratulate  him  on  his 
honors. " 

"I  will  help  you  to  find  him,"  said  Lady  Gren- 
ville, whose  woman's  eye  and  ear  had  already 
suspected  something.  "Escort  me,  sir." 

"It  is  but  too  great  an  honor  to  squire  the 
Queen  of  Bideford,"  said  Gary,  offering  his 
hand. 

"If  I  am  your  queen,  sir,  I  must  be  obeyed," 
answered  she,  in  a  meaning  tone.  Gary  took  the 
hint,  and  went  on  chattering  cheerfully  enough. 

But  Don  Guzman  was  not  to  be  found  in  gardea 
or  in  pleasaunce. 

"Perhaps,"  at  last  said  a  burgher's  wife,  with 


386  Westward  Ho ! 

a  toss  of  her  head,  "your  ladyship  may  meet 
with  him  at  Hankford's  oak." 

"At  Hankford's  oak!  what  should  take  him 
there?" 

"  Pleasant  company,  I  reckon "  (with  another 
toss).  "  I  heard  him  and  Mistress  Salterne  talk- 
ing about  the  oak  just  now." 

Gary  turned  pale  and  drew  in  his  breath. 

"Very  likely,"  said  Lady  Grenville,  quietly. 
"  Will  you  walk  with  me  so  far,  Mr.  Gary  ?  " 

"To  the  world's  end,  if  your  ladyship  conde- 
scends so  far. "  And  off  they  went,  Lady  Gren- 
ville wishing  that  they  were  going  anywhere  else, 
but  afraid  to  let  Gary  go  alone;  and  suspecting, 
too,  that  some  one  or  other  ought  to  go. 

So  they  went  down  past  the  herds  of  deer,  by 
a  trim -kept  path  into  the  lonely  dell  where  stood 
the  fatal  oak ;  and,  as  they  went,  Lady  Grenville, 
to  avoid  more  unpleasant  talk,  poured  into  Gary's 
unheeding  ears  the  story  (which  he  probably  had 
heard  fifty  times  before)  how  old  Chief-justice 
Hankford  (whom  some  contradictory  myths  make 
the  man  who  committed  Prince  Henry  to  prison 
for  striking  him  on  the  bench),  weary  of  life  and 
sickened  at  the  horrors  and  desolations  of  the 
Wars  of  the  Roses,  went  down  to  his  house  at 
Annery  there,  and  bade  his  keeper  shoot  any  man 
who,  passing  through  the  deer-park  at  night, 
should  refuse  to  stand  when  challenged;  and 
then  going  down  into  that  glen  himself,  and  hid- 
ing himself  beneath  that  oak,  met  willingly  by 
his  keeper's  hand  the  death  which  his  own  dared 
not  inflict :  but  ere  the  story  was  half  done,  Gary 
grasped  Lady  Grenville' s  hand  so  tightly  that  she 
gave  a  little  shriek  of  pain. 


How  Bideford  Bridge  Dined        387 

-  "There  they  are!"  whispered  he,  heedless  of 
her;  and  pointed  to  the  oak,  where,  half  hidden 
by  the  tall  fern,  stood  Rose  and  the  Spaniard. 

Her  head  was  on  his  bosom.  She  seemed  sob- 
bing, trembling;  he  talking  earnestly  and  pas- 
sionately; but  Lady  Grenville's  little  shriek  made 
them  both  look  up.  To  turn  and  try  to  escape 
was  to  confess  all ;  and  the  two,  collecting  them- 
selves instantly,  walked  towards  her,  Rose  wish- 
ing herself  fathoms  deep  beneath  the  earth. 

"Mind,  sir,"  whispered  Lady  Grenville  as  they 
came  up;  "you  have  seen  nothing." 

"Madam?" 

"  If  you  are  not  on  my  ground,  you  are  on  my 
brother's.  Obey  me!" 

Gary  bit  his  lip,  and  bowed  courteously  to  the 
Don. 

"I  have  to  congratulate  you,  I  hear,  seftor,  on 
your  approaching  departure. " 

"I  kiss  your  hands,  sefior,  in  return;  but  I 
question  whether  it  be  a  matter  of  congratula- 
tion, considering  all  that  I  leave  behind." 

"So  do  I,"  answered  Gary,  bluntly  enough,  and 
the  four  walked  back  to  the  house,  Lady  Gren- 
ville taking  everything  for  granted  with  the  most 
charming  good  humor,  and  chatting  to  her  three 
silent  companions  till  they  gained  the  terrace 
once  more,  and  found  four  or  five  of  the  gentle- 
men, with  Sir  Richard  at  their  head,  proceeding 
to  the  bowling-green. 

Lady  Grenville,  in  an  agony  of  fear  about  the 
quarrel  which  she  knew  must  come,  would  have 
gladly  whispered  five  words  to  her  husband :  but 
she  dared  not  do  it  before  the  Spaniard,  and 
dreaded,  too,  a  faint  or  a  scream  from  the  Rose, 


388  Westward  Ho! 

whose  father  was  of  the  party.  So  she  walked  on 
with  her  fair  prisoner,  commanding  Gary  to  escort 
them  in,  and  the  Spaniard  to  go  to  the  bowling- 
green. 

Gary  obeyed:  but  he  gave  her  the  slip  the 
moment  she  was  inside  the  door,  and  then  darted 
off  to  the  gentlemen. 

His  heart  was  on  fire:  all  his  old  passion  for 
the  Rose  had  flashed  up  again  at  the  sight  of  her 
with  a  lover;  —  and  that  lover  a  Spaniard!  He 
would  cut  his  throat  for  him,  if  steel  could  do 
it !  Only  he  recollected  that  Salterne  was  there, 
and  shrank  from  exposing  Rose;  and  shrank,  too, 
as  every  gentleman  should,  from  making  a  public 
quarrel  in  another  man's  house.  Never  mind. 
Where  there  was  a  will  there  was  a  way.  He 
could  get  him  into  a  corner,  and  quarrel  with 
him  privately  about  the  cut  of  his  beard,  or  the 
color  of  his  ribbon.  So  in  he  went;  and,  luck- 
ily or  unluckily,  found  standing  together  apart 
from  the  rest,  Sir  Richard,  the  Don,  and  young 
St.  Leger. 

"  Well,  Don  Guzman,  you  have  given  us  wine- 
bibbers  the  slip  this  afternoon.  I  hope  you  have 
been  well  employed  in  the  meanwhile  ?  " 

"  Delightfully  to  myself,  seftor, "  said  the  Don, 
who,  enraged  at  being  interrupted,  if  not  dis- 
covered, was  as  ready  to  fight  as  Gary,  but  dis- 
liked, of  course,  an  explosion  as  much  as  he  did; 
"and  to  others,  I  doubt  not." 

"So  the  ladies  say,"  quoth  St.  Leger.  "He 
has  been  making  them  all  cry  with  one  of  his 
stories,  and  robbing  us  meanwhile  of  the  pleasure 
we  had  hoped  for  from  some  of  his  Spanish 
songs." 


How  Bideford  Bridge  Dined        389 

"The  devil  take  Spanish  songs!"  said  Gary, 
in  a  low  voice,  but  loud  enough  for  the  Spaniard. 
Don  Guzman  clapt  his  hand  on  his  sword-hilt 
instantly. 

"Lieutenant  Gary,"  said  Sir  Richard,  in  astern 
voice,  "the  wine  has  surely  made  you  forget 
yourself ! " 

"  As  sober  as  yourself,  most  worshipful  knight ; 
but  if  you  want  a  Spanish  song,  here  's  one;  and 
a  very  scurvy  one  it  is,  like  its  subject  — 

"  Don  Desperado 

Walked  on  the  Prado, 
And  there  he  met  his  enemy. 

He  pulled  out  a  knife,  a, 

And  let  out  his  life,  a, 
And  fled  for  his  own  across  the  sea." 

And  he  bowed  low  to  the  Spaniard. 

The  insult  was  too  gross  to  require  any  splut- 
tering. 

"  SeSor  Gary,  we  meet  ?  " 

"I  thank  your  quick  apprehension,  Don  Guz- 
man Maria  Magdalena  Sotomayor  de  Soto. 
When,  where,  and  with  what  weapons  ? " 

"  For  God's  sake,  gentlemen  !  Nephew  Arthur, 
Gary  is  your  guest;  do  you  know  the  meaning  of 
this?" 

St.  Leger  was  silent.     Gary  answered  for  him. 

"An  old  Irish  quarrel,  I  assure  you,  sir.  A 
matter  of  years'  standing.  In  unlacing  the 
seflor's  helmet,  the  evening  that  he  was  taken 
prisoner,  I  was  unlucky  enough  to  twitch  his 
mustachios.  You  recollect  the  fact,  of  course, 
sefior?" 

"Perfectly,"  said  the  Spaniard;  and  then, 
half-amused  and  half-pleased,  in  spite  of  his 


390  Westward  Ho  ! 

bitter  wrath,  at  Gary's  quickness  and  delicacy  in 
shielding  Rose,  he  bowed,  and 

"  And  it  gives  me  much  pleasure  to  find  that  he 
whom  I  trust  to  have  the  pleasure  of  killing  to- 
morrow morning  is  a  gentleman  whose  nice  sense 
of  honor  renders  him  thoroughly  worthy  of  the 
sword  of  a  De  Soto." 

Gary  bowed  in  return,  while  Sir  Richard,  who 
saw  plainly  enough  that  the  excuse  was  feigned, 
shrugged  his  shoulders. 

"What  weapons,  sefior?"  asked  Will  again. 

"I  should  have  preferred  a  horse  and  pistols," 
said  Don  Guzman  after  a  moment,  half  to  him- 
self, and  in  Spanish ;  "  they  make  surer  work  of 
it  than  bodkins ;  but "  (with  a  sigh  and  one  of 
his  smiles)  "beggars  must  not  be  choosers." 

"  The  best  horse  in  my  stable  is  at  your  service, 
seftor,"  said  Sir  Richard  Grenville,  instantly. 

"And  in  mine  also,  seftor,"  said  Gary;  "and 
I  shall  be  happy  to  allow  you  a  week  to  train 
him,  if  he  does  not  answer  at  first  to  a  Spanish 
hand." 

"You  forget  in  your  courtesy,  gentle  sir,  that 
the  insult  being  with  me,  the  time  lies  with  me 
also.  We  wipe  it  off  to-morrow  morning  with 
simple  rapiers  and  daggers.  Who  is  your 
second  ? " 

"Mr.  Arthur  St.  Leger  here,  seftor:  who  is 
yours  ? " 

The  Spaniard  felt  himself  alone  in  the  world 
for  one  moment;  and  then  answered  with  another 
of  his  smiles,  — 

"Your  nation  possesses  the  soul  of  honor.  He 
who  fights  an  Englishman  needs  no  second." 

"And  he  who  fights  among  Englishmen   will 


How  Bideford  Bridge  Dined        391 

always  find  one,"  said  Sir  Richard.     "I  am  the 
fittest  second  for  my  guest." 

"  You  only  add  one  more  obligation,  illustrious 
cavalier,  to  a  two-years'  prodigality  of  favors, 
which  I  shall  never  be  able  to  repay." 

"But,  Nephew  Arthur,"  said  Grenville,  "you 
cannot  surely  be  second  against  your  father's 
guest,  and  your  own  uncle." 

"I  cannot  help  it,  sir;  I  am  bound  by  an  oath, 
as  Will  can  tell  you.  I  suppose  you  won't  think 
it  necessary  to  let  me  blood  ? " 

"  You  half  deserve  it,  sirrah ! "  said  Sir  Richard, 
who  was  very  angry:  but  the  Don  interposed 
quickly. 

"Heaven  forbid,  seftors!  We  are  no  French 
duellists,  who  are  mad  enough  to  make  four  or 
six  lives  answer  for  the  sins  of  two.  This  gentle- 
man and  I  have  quarrel  enough  between  us,  I 
suspect,  to  make  a  right  bloody  encounter." 

"The  dependence  is  good  enough,  sir,"  said 
Gary,  licking  his  sinful  lips  at  the  thought. 
"Very  well.  Rapiers  and  shirts  at  three  to- 
morrow morning  —  Is  that  the  bill  of  fare  ?  Ask 
Sir  Richard  where,  Atty?  It  is  against  punctilio 
now  for  me  to  speak  to  him  till  after  I  am 
killed." 

"  On  the  sands  opposite.  The  tide  will  be  out 
at  three.  And  now,  gallant  gentlemen,  let  us 
join  the  bowlers." 

And  so  they  went  back  and  spent  a  merry 
evening,  all  except  poor  Rose,  who,  ere  she  went 
back,  had  poured  all  her  sorrows  into  Lady  Gren- 
ville's  ear.  For  the  kind  woman,  knowing  that 
she  was  motherless  and  guileless,  carried  her  off 
into  Mrs.  St.  Leger's  chamber,  and  there  entreated 


392  Westward  Ho ! 

her  to  tell  the  truth,  and  heaped  her  with  pity, 
but  with  no  comfort.  For  indeed,  what  comfort 
was  there  to  give  ? 

Three  o'clock,  upon  a  still  pure  bright  mid- 
summer morning.  A  broad  and  yellow  sheet  of 
ribbed  tide-sands,  through  which  the  shallow 
river  wanders  from  one  hill-foot  to  the  other, 
whispering  round  dark  knolls  of  rock,  and  under 
low  tree-fringed  cliffs,  and  banks  of  golden 
broom.  A  mile  below,  the  long  bridge  and  the 
white  walled  town,  all  sleeping  pearly  in  the  soft 
haze,  beneath  a  cloudless  vault  of  blue.  The 
white  glare  of  dawn,  which  last  night  hung  high 
in  the  northwest,  has  travelled  now  to  the  north- 
east, and  above  the  wooded  wall  of  the  hills  the 
sky  is  flushing  with  rose  and  amber. 

A  long  line  of  gulls  goes  wailing  up  inland; 
the  rooks  from  Annery  come  cawing  and  sporting 
|  round  the  corner  at  Landcross,  while  high  above 
them  four  or  five  herons  flap  solemnly  along  to 
find  their  breakfast  on  the  shallows.  The  pheas- 
ants and  partridges  are  clucking  merrily  in  the 
long  wet  grass ;  every  copse  and  hedgerow  rings 
with  the  voice  of  birds,  but  the  lark,  who  has 
been  singing  since  midnight  in  the  "blank  height 
of  the  dark,"  suddenly  hushes  his  carol  and  drops 
headlong  among  the  corn,  as  a  broad-winged 
buzzard  swings  from  some  wooded  peak  into  the 
abyss  of  the  valley,  and  hangs  high-poised  above 
the  heavenward  songster.  The  air  is  full  of 
perfume;  sweet  clover,  new-mown  hay,  the  fra- 
grant breath  of  kine,  the  dainty  scent  of  sea-weed 
wreaths  and  fresh  wet  sand.  Glorious  day,  glo- 
rious place,  "bridal  of  earth  and  sky,"  decked 


How  Bideford  Bridge  Dined        393 

well  with  bridal  garlands,  bridal  perfumes,  bridal 
songs,  —  What  do  those  four  cloaked  figures  there 
by  the  river  brink,  a  dark  spot  on  the  fair  face  of 
the  summer  morn  ? 

Yet  one  is  as  cheerful  as  if  he  too,  like  all 
nature  round  him,  were  going  to  a  wedding;  and 
that  is  Will  Gary.  He  has  been  bathing  down 
below,  to  cool  his  brain  and  steady  his  hand; 
and  he  intends  to  stop  Don  Guzman  Maria  Mag- 
dalena  Sotomayor  de  Soto's  wooing  for  ever  and 
a  day.  The  Spaniard  is  in  a  very  different  mood; 
fierce  and  haggard,  he  is  pacing  up  and  down  the 
sand.  He  intends  to  kill  Will  Gary;  but  then? 
Will  he  be  the  nearer  to  Rose  by  doing  so  ?  Can 
he  stay  in  Bideford?  Will  she  go  with  him? 
Shall  he  stoop  to  stain  his  family  by  marrying  a 
burgher's  daughter?  It  is  a  confused,  all  but 
desperate  business;  and  Don  Guzman  is  certain 
but  of  one  thing,  that  he  is  madly  in  love  with 
this  fair  witch,  and  that  if  she  refuse  him,  then, 
rather  than  see  her  accept  another  man,  he  would 
kill  her  with  his  own  hands. 

Sir  Richard  Grenville  too  is  in  no  very  pleasant 
humor,  as  St.  Leger  soon  discovers,  when  the 
two  seconds  begin  whispering  over  their  arrange- 
ments, 

"  We  cannot  have  either  of  them  killed,  Arthur. " 

"Mr.  Gary  swears  he  will  kill  the  Spaniard, 
sir." 

"He  sha'n't.  The  Spaniard  is  my  guest.  I 
am  answerable  for  him  to  Leigh,  and  for  his 
ransom  too.  And  how  can  Leigh  accept  the  ran- 
som if  the  man  is  not  given  up  safe  and  sound? 
They  won't  pay  for  a  dead  carcass,  boyl  The 
man's  life  is  worth  two  hundred  pounds." 


394  Westward  Ho  ! 

"A  very  bad  bargain,  sir,  for  those  who  pay 
the  said  two  hundred  for  the  rascal ;  but  what  ii 
he  kills  Gary?" 

"Worse  still.  Gary  must  not  be  killed.  I  am 
very  angry  with  him,  but  he  is  too  good  a  lad  to 
be  lost ;  and  his  father  would  never  forgive  us. 
We  must  strike  up  their  swords  at  the  first 
scratch. " 

"It  will  make  them  very  mad,  sir." 

"  Hang  them !  let  them  fight  us  then,  if  they 
don't  like  our  counsel.  It  must  be,  Arthur." 

"Be  sure,  sir,"  said  Arthur,  "that  whatsoever 
you  shall  command  I  shall  perform.  It  is  only 
too  great  an  honor  to  a  young  man  as  I  am  to 
find  myself  in  the  same  duel  with  your  worship, 
and  to  have  the  advantage  of  your  wisdom  and 
experience." 

Sir  Richard  smiles,  and  says  —  "Now,  gentle- 
men !  are  you  ready  ? " 

The  Spaniard  pulls  out  a  little  crucifix,  and 
kisses  it  devoutly,  smiting  on  his  breast;  crosses 
himself  two  or  three  times,  and  says  —  "  Most 
willingly,  sefior." 

Gary  kisses  no  crucifix,  but  says  a  prayer 
nevertheless. 

Cloaks  and  doublets  are  tossed  off,  the  men 
placed,  the  rapiers  measured  hilt  and  point ;  Sir 
Richard  and  St.  Leger  place  themselves  right 
and  left  of  the  combatants,  facing  each  other,  the 
points  of  their  drawn  swords  on  the  sand.  Gary 
and  the  Spaniard  stand  for  a  moment  quite  up- 
right, their  sword-arms  stretched  straight  before 
them,  holding  the  long  rapier  horizontally,  the 
left  hand  clutching  the  dagger  close  to  their 
breasts.  So  they  stand  eye  to  eye,  with  clenched 


How  Bideford  Bridge  Dined        395 

teeth  and  pale  crushed  lips,  while  men  might 
count  a  score;  St.  Leger  can  hear  the  beating  of 
his  own  heart;  Sir  Richard  is  praying  inwardly 
that  no  life  may  be  lost.  Suddenly  there  is  a 
quick  turn  of  Gary's  wrist  and  a  leap  forward. 
The  Spaniard's  dagger  flashes,  and  the  rapier  is 
turned  aside;  Gary  springs  six  feet  back  as  the 
Spaniard  rushes  on  him  in  turn.  Parry,  thrust, 
parry  —  the  steel  rattles,  the  sparks  fly,  the  men 
breathe  fierce  and  loud;  the  devil's  game  is 
begun  in  earnest. 

Five  minutes  have  the  two  had  instant  death  a 
short  six  inches  off  from  those  wild  sinful  hearts 
of  theirs,  and  not  a  scratch  has  been  given. 
Yes!  the  Spaniard's  rapier  passes  under  Gary's 
left  arm;  he  bleeds. 

"A  hit!  a  hit!  Strike  up,  Atty!"  and  the 
swords  are  struck  up  instantly. 

Gary,  nettled  by  the  smart,  tries  to  close  with 
his  foe,  but  the  seconds  cross  their  swords  before 
him. 

"It  is  enough,  gentlemen.  Don  Guzman's 
honor  is  satisfied  !  " 

"But  not  my  revenge,  seflor,"  says  the 
Spaniard,  with  a  frown.  "This  duel  is  d  Fou* 
trance,  on  my  part;  and,  I  believe,  on  Mr.  Gary's 
also." 

"  By  heaven,  it  is  !  "  says  Will,  trying  to  push 
past.  "  Let  me  go,  Arthur  St.  Leger ;  one  of  us 
must  down.  Let  me  go,  I  say !  " 

"  If  you  stir,  Mr.  Gary,  you  have  to  do  with 
Richard  Grenville!  "  thunders  the  lion  voice.  "I 
am  angry  enough  with  you  for  having  brought  on 
this  duel  at  all.  Don't  provoke  me  still  further, 
young  hot-head !  " 


396  Westward  Ho  ! 

Gary  stops  sulkily. 

"You  do  not  know  all,  Sir  Richard,  or  you 
would  not  speak  in  this  way." 

"I  do,  sir,  all;  and  I  shall  have  the  honor  of 
talking  it  over  with  Don  Guzman  myself." 

"  Hey !  "  said  the  Spaniard.  "  You  came  here 
as  my  second,  Sir  Richard,  as  I  understood,  but 
not  as  my  counsellor." 

"  Arthur,  take  your  man  away !  Gary !  obey 
me  as  you  would  your  father,  sir !  Can  you  not 
trust  Richard  Grenville?" 

"  Come  away,  for  God's  sake ! "  says  poor 
Arthur,  dragging  Gary's  sword  from  him;  "Sir 
Richard  must  know  best !  " 

So  Gary  is  led  off  sulking,  and  Sir  Richard 
turns  to  the  Spaniard, 

"And  now,  Don  Guzman,  allow  me,  though 
much  against  my  will,  to  speak  to  you  as  a  friend 
to  a  friend.  You  will  pardon  me  if  I  say  that 
I  cannot  but  have  seen  last  night's  devotion 
to " 

"You  will  be  pleased,  sefior,  not  to  mention 
the  name  of  any  lady  to  whom  I  may  have  shown 
devotion.  I  am  not  accustomed  to  have  my 
little  affairs  talked  over  by  any  unbidden  coun- 
sellors." 

"Well,  sefior,  if  you  take  offence,  you  take 
that  which  is  not  given.  Only  I  warn  you,  with 
all  apologies  for  any  seeming  forwardness,  that 
the  quest  on  which  you  seem  to  be  is  one  on 
which  you  will  not  be  allowed  to  proceed." 

"  And  who  will  stop  me  ? "  asked  the  Spaniard, 
with  a  fierce  oath. 

"You  are  not  aware,  illustrious  sefior,"  said 
Sir  Richard,  parrying  the  question,  "that  our 


How  Bidcford  Bridge  Dined         397 

English  laity  look  upon  mixed  marriages  with 
full  as  much  dislike  as  your  own  ecclesiastics." 

"Marriage,  sir?  Who  gave  you  leave  to  men- 
tion that  word  to  me  ? " 

Sir  Richard's  brow  darkened;  the  Spaniard,  in 
his  insane  pride,  had  forced  upon  the  good  knight 
a  suspicion  which  was  not  really  just. 

"  Is  it  possible,  then,  Sefior  Don  Guzman,  that 
I  am  to  have  the  shame  of  mentioning  a  baser 
word?" 

"Mention  what  you  will,  sir.  All  words  are 
the  same  to  me;  for,  just  or  unjust,  I  shall 
answer  them  alike  only  by  my  sword." 

"  You  will  do  no  such  thing,  sir.  You  forget 
that  I  am  your  host." 

"  And  do  you  suppose  that  you  have  therefore 
a  right  to  insult  me  ?  Stand  on  your  guard,  sir ! " 

Grenville  answered  by  slapping  his  own  rapier 
home  into  the  sheath  with  a  quiet  smile. 

"Sefior  Don  Guzman  must  be  well  enough 
aware  of  who  Richard  Grenville  is,  to  know  that 
he  may  claim  the  right  of  refusing  duel  to  any 
man,  if  he  shall  so  think  fit." 

"Sir!  "  cried  the  Spaniard,  with  an  oath,  "this 
is  too  much !  Do  you  dare  to  hint  that  I  am 
unworthy  of  your  sword?  Know,  insolent  Eng- 
lishman, I  am  not  merely  a  De  Soto,  though  that, 
by  St.  James,  were  enough  for  you  or  any  man. 
I  am  a  Sotomayor,  a  Mendoza,  a  Bovadilla,  a 

Losada,  a sir !  I  have  blood  royal  in  my 

veins,  and  you  dare  to  refuse  my  challenge?" 

"  Richard  Grenville  can  show  quarterings,  prob- 
ably, against  even  Don  Guzman  Maria  Magdalena 
Sotomayor  de  Soto,  or  against  (with  no  offence 
to  the  unquestioned  nobility  of  your  pedigree) 


398  Westward  Ho ! 

the  bluest  blood  of  Spain.  But  he  can  show, 
moreover,  thank  God,  a  reputation  which  raises 
him  as  much  above  the  imputation  of  cowardice, 
as  it  does  above  that  of  discourtesy.  If  you 
think  fit,  seflor,  to  forget  what  you  have  just,  in 
very  excusable  anger,  vented,  and  to  return  with 
me,  you  will  find  me  still,  as  ever,  your  most 
faithful  servant  and  host.  If  otherwise,  you  have 
only  to  name  whither  you  wish  your  mails  to  be 
sent,  and  I  shall,  with  unfeigned  sorrow,  obey 
your  commands  concerning  them." 

The  Spaniard  bowed  stiffly,  answered,  "To  the 
nearest  tavern,  sefior,"  and  then  strode  away. 
His  baggage  was  sent  thither.  He  took  a  boat 
down  to  Appledore  that  very  afternoon,  and  van- 
ished, none  knew  whither.  A  very  courteous 
note  to  Lady  Grenville,  enclosing  the  jewel  which 
he  had  been  used  to  wear  round  his  neck,  was 
the  only  memorial  he  left  behind  him :  except, 
indeed,  the  scar  on  Gary's  arm,  and  poor  Rose's 
broken  heart. 

Now  county  towns  are  scandalous  places  at 
best;  and  though  all  parties  tried  to  keep  the 
duel  secret,  yet,  of  course,  before  noon  all  Bide- 
ford  knew  what  had  happened,  and  a  great  deal 
more;  and  what  was  even  worse,  Rose,  in  an 
agony  of  terror,  had  seen  Sir  Richard  Grenville 
enter  her  father's  private  room,  and  sit  there 
closeted  with  him  for  an  hour  and  more;  and 
when  he  went,  upstairs  came  old  Salterne,  with 
his  stick  in  his  hand,  and  after  rating  her  soundly 
for  far  worse  than  a  flirt,  gave  her  (I  am  sorry 
to  have  to  say  it,  but  such  was  the  mild  fashion 
of  paternal  rule  in  those  times,  even  over  such 
daughters  as  Lady  Jane  Grey,  if  Roger  Ascham 


How  Bideford  Bridge  Dined        399 

is  to  be  believed)  such  a  beating  that  her  poor 
sides  were  black  and  blue  for  many  a  day;  and 
then  putting  her  on  a  pillion  behind  him,  carried 
her  off  twenty  miles  to  her  old  prison  at  Stow 
mill,  commanding  her  aunt  to  tame  down  her 
saucy  blood  with  bread  of  affliction  and  water 
of  affliction.  Which  commands  were  willingly 
enough  fulfilled  by  the  old  dame,  who  had  always 
borne  a  grudge  against  Rose  for  being  rich  while 
she  was  poor,  and  pretty  while  her  daughter  was 
plain;  so  that  between  flouts,  and  sneers,  and 
watch  ings,  and  pretty  open  hints  that  she  was  a 
disgrace  to  her  family,  and  no  better  than  she 
should  be,  the  poor  innocent  child  watered  her 
couch  with  her  tears  for  a  fortnight  or  more, 
stretching  out  her  hands  to  the  wide  Atlantic, 
and  calling,  wildly  to  Don  Guzman  to  return  and 
take  her  where  he  would,  and  she  would  live  for 
him  and  die  for  him;  and  perhaps  she  did  not 
call  in  vain. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

HOW  THE  GOLDEN  HIND  CAME  HOME  AGAIN 

"  The  spirits  of  your  fathers 

Shall  start  from  every  wave ; 
For  the  deck  it  was  their  field  of  fame, 
And  ocean  was  their  grave." 

CAMPBELL, 

"  OO  you  see,  my  dear  Mrs.  Hawkins,  having 
O  the  silver,  as  your  own  eyes  show  you, 
beside  the  ores  of  lead,  manganese,  and  copper, 
and  above  all  this  gossan  (as  the  Cornish  call  it), 
which  I  suspect  to  be  not  merely  the  matrix  of 
the  ore,  but  also  the  very  crude  form  and  materia 
prima  of  all  metals  —  you  mark  me  ?  —  If  my 
recipes,  which  I  had  from  Doctor  Dee,  succeed 
only  half  so  well  as  I  expect,  then  I  refine  out 
the  luna,  the  silver,  lay  it  by,  and  transmute  the 
remaining  ores  into  sol,  gold.  Whereupon  Peru 
and  Mexico  become  superfluities,  and  England 
the  mistress  of  the  globe.  Strange,  no  doubt; 
distant,  no  doubt :  but  possible,  my  dear  madam, 
possible ! " 

"  And  what  good  to  you  if  it  be,  Mr.  Gilbert  ? 
If  you  could  find  a  philosopher's  stone  to  turn 
sinners  into  saints,  now  —  but  naught  save  God's 
grace  can  do  that;  and  that  last  seems  ofttimes 
over  long  in  coming."  And  Mrs.  Hawkins 
sighed. 


How  the  Golden  Hind  Came  Home  401 

"But  indeed,  my  dear  madam,  conceive  now. 
—  The  Comb  Martin  mine  thus  becomes  a  gold 
mine,  perhaps  inexhaustible;  yields  me  where- 
withal to  carry  out  my  North-West  patent;  mean- 
while my  brother  Humphrey  holds  Newfoundland, 
and  builds  me  fresh  ships  year  by  year  (for  the 
forests  of  pine  are  boundless)  for  my  China 
voyage. " 

"  Sir  Humphrey  has  better  thoughts  in  his  dear 
heart  than  gold,  Mr.  Adrian ;  a  very  close  and 
gracious  walker  he  has  been  this  seven  year.  I 
wish  my  Captain  John  were  so  too." 

"  And  how  do  you  know  I  have  naught  better 
in  my  mind's  eye  than  gold?  Or,  indeed,  what 
better  could  I  have?  Is  not  gold  the  Spaniard's 
strength  —  the  very  mainspring  of  Antichrist? 
By  gold  only,  therefore,  can  we  out-wrestle  him. 
You  shake  your  head,  but  say,  dear  madam  (for 
gold  England  must  have),  which  is  better,  to 
make  gold  bloodlessly  at  home,  or  take  it  bloodily 
abroad?" 

"Oh,  Mr.  Gilbert,  Mr.  Gilbert!  is  it  not 
written,  that  those  who  make  haste  to  be  rich, 
pierce  themselves  through  with  many  sorrows? 
Oh,  Mr.  Gilbert!  God's  blessing  is  not  on  it 
all." 

"Not  on  you,  madam?  Be  sure  that  brave 
Captain  John  Hawkins's  star  told  me  a  different 
tale,  when  I  cast  his  nativity  for  him.  —  Born 
under  stormy  planets,  truly,  but  under  right  royal 
and  fortunate  ones." 

"  Ah,  Mr.  Adrian !  I  am  a  simple  body,  and 
you  a  great  philosopher,  but  I  hold  there  is  no 
star  for  the  seaman  like  the  Star  of  Bethlehem; 
and  that  goes  with  '  peace  on  earth  and  good  will 

Vol.  8—18 


402  Westward  Ho! 

to  men,'  and  not  with  such  arms  as  that,  Mr. 
Adrian.  I  can't  abide  to  look  upon  them." 

And  she  pointed  up  to  one  of  the  bosses  of  the 
ribbed  oak-roof,  on  which  was  emblazoned  the 
fatal  crest  which  Clarencieux  Hervey  had  granted 
years  before  to  her  husband,  the  _,"  Demi-Moor 
proper,  bound. " 

"Ah,  Mr.  Gilbert!  since  first  he  went  to 
Guinea  after  those  poor  negroes,  little  lightness 
has  my  heart  known ;  and  the  very  day  that  that 
crest  was  put  up  in  our  grand  new  house,  as  the 
parson  read  the  first  lesson,  there  was  this  text 
in  it,  Mr.  Gilbert,  '  Woe  to  him  that  buildeth  his 
house  by  iniquity,  and  his  chambers  by  wrong. 
Shalt  thou  live  because  thou  closest  thyself  in 
cedar? '  And  it  went  into  my  ears  like  fire,  Mr. 
Gilbert,  and  into  my  heart  like  lead ;  and  when 
the  parson  went  on,  '  Did  not  thy  father  eat  and 
drink,  and  do  judgment  and  justice?  Then  it 
was  well  with  him, '  I  thought  of  good  old  Cap- 
tain Will;  and  —  I  tell  you,  Mr.  Gilbert,  those 
negroes  are  on  my  soul  from  morning  until 
night!  We  are  all  mighty  grand  now,  and  money 
comes  in  fast,  but  the  Lord  will  require  the 
blood  of  them  at  our  hands  yet,  He  will !  " 

"My  dearest  madam,  who  can  prosper  more 
than  you  ?  If  your  husband  copied  the  Dons  too 
closely  once  or  twice  in  the  matter  of  those 
negroes  (which  I  do  not  deny,)  was  he  not  pun- 
ished at  once  when  he  lost  ships,  men,  all  but 
life,  at  St.  Juan  d'Ulloa?" 

"Ay,  yes,"  she  said;  "and  that  did  give  me  a 
bit  of  comfort,  especially  when  the  queen  —  God 
save  her  tender  heart !  —  was  so  sharp  with  him 
for  pity  of  the  poor  wretches,  but  it  has  not 


How  the  Golden  Hind  Came  Home  403 

mended  him.  He  is  growing  fast  like  the  rest 
now,  Mr.  Gilbert,  greedy  to  win,  and  niggardly 
to  spend  (God  forgive  him !)  and  always  fretting 
and  plotting  for  some  new  gain,  and  envying  and 
grudging  at  Drake,  and  all  who  are  deeper  in  the 
snare  of  prosperity  than  he  is.  Gold,  gold,  noth- 
ing but  gold  in  every  mouth  —  there  it  is  !  Ah  ! 
I  mind  when  Plymouth  was  a  quiet  little  God- 
fearing place  as  God  could  smile  upon :  but  ever 
since  my  John,  and  Sir  Francis,  and  poor  Mr. 
Oxenham  found  out  the  way  to  the  Indies,  it'-s 
been  a  sad  place.  Not  a  sailor's  wife  but  is  cry- 
ing '  Give,  give, '  like  the  daughters  of  the  horse- 
leech ;  and  every  woman  must  drive  her  husband 
out  across  seas  to  bring  her  home  money  to 
squander  on  hoods  and  farthingales,  and  go  minc- 
ing with  outstretched  necks  and  wanton  eyes; 
and  they  will  soon  learn  to  do  worse  than  that, 
for  the  sake  of  gain.  But  the  Lord's  hand  will 
be  against  their  tires  and  crisping-pins,  their 
mufflers  and  farthingales,  as  it  was  against  the 
Jews  of  old.  Ah,  dear  me !  " 

The  two  interlocutors  in  this  dialogue  were 
sitting  in  a  low  oak-panelled  room  in  Plymouth 
town,  handsomely  enough  furnished,  adorned  with 
carving  and  gilding  and  coats  of  arms,  and  note- 
worthy for  many  strange  knickknacks,  Spanish 
gold  and  silver  vessels  on  the  sideboard ;  strange 
birds  and  skins,  and  charts  and  rough  drawings 
of  coast  which  hung  about  the  room;  while  over 
the  fireplace,  above  the  portrait  of  old  Captain 
Will  Hawkins,  pet  of  Henry  the  Eighth,  hung 
the  Spanish  ensign  which  Captain  John  had  taken 
in  fair  fight  at  Rio  de  la  Hacha  fifteen  years 
before,  when,  with  two  hundred  men,  he  seized 


404  Westward  Ho ! 

the  town  in  despite  of  ten  hundred  Spanish 
soldiers,  and  watered  his  ship  triumphantly  at 
the  enemy's  wells. 

The  gentleman  was  a  tall  fair  man,  with  a 
broad  and  lofty  forehead,  wrinkled  with  study, 
and  eyes  weakened  by  long  poring  over  the 
crucible  and  the  furnace. 

The  lady  had  once  been  comely  enough,  but 
she  was  aged  and  worn,  as  sailors'  wives  are  apt 
to  be,  by  many  sorrows.  Many  a  sad  day  had 
she  had  already;  for  although  John  Hawkins, 
port-admiral  of  Plymouth,  and  patriarch  of  British 
shipbuilders,  was  a  faithful  husband  enough,  and 
as  ready  to  forgive  as  he  was  to  quarrel,  yet  he 
was  obstinate  and  ruthless,  and  in  spite  of  his 
religiosity  (for  all  men  were  religious  then)  was 
by  no  means  a  "consistent  walker." 

And  sadder  days  were  in  store  for  her,  poor 
soul.  Nine  years  hence  she  would  be  asked  to 
name  her  son's  brave  new  ship,  and  would  christen 
it  The  Repentance,  giving  no  reason  in  her  quiet 
steadfast  way  (so  says  her  son  Sir  Richard)  but 
that  "Repentance  was  the  best  ship  in  which 
we  could  sail  to  the  harbor  of  heaven ;  "  and  she 
would  hear  that  Queen  Elizabeth,  complaining 
of  the  name  for  an  unlucky  one,  had  re-christened 
her  The  Dainty,  not  without  some  by-quip,  per- 
haps, at  the  character  of  her  most  dainty  captain, 
Richard  Hawkins,  the  complete  seaman  and 
Euphuist  afloat,  of  whom,  perhaps,  more  here- 
after. 

With  sad  eyes  Mrs.  (then  Lady)  Hawkins 
would  see  that  gallant  bark  sail  Westward-ho, 
to  go  the  world  around,  as  many  another  ship 
sailed;  and  then  wait,  as  many  a  mother  beside 


How  the  Golden  Hind  Came  Home  405 

had  waited,  for  the  sail  which  never  returned; 
till,  dim  and  uncertain,  came  tidings  of  her  boy 
fighting  for  four  days  three  great  Armadas  (for 
the  coxcomb  had  his  father's  heart  in  him  after 
all),  a  prisoner,  wounded,  ruined,  languishing  for 
weary  years  in  Spanish  prisons.  And  a  sadder 
day  than  that  was  in  store,  when  a  gallant  fleet 
should  round  the  Ram  Head,  not  with  drum  and 
trumpet,  but  with  solemn  minute-guns,  and  all 
flags  half-mast  high,  to  tell  her  that  her  terrible 
husband's  work  was  done,  his  terrible  heart 
broken  by  failure  and  fatigue,  and  his  body 
laid  by  Drake's  beneath  the  far-off  tropic 
seas. 

And  if,  at  the  close  of  her  eventful  life,  one 
gleam  of  sunshine  opened  for  a  while,  when  her 
boy  Richard  returned  to  her  bosom  from  his 
Spanish  prison,  to  be  knighted  for  his  valor, 
and  made  a  privy  councillor  for  his  wisdom ;  yet 
soon,  how  soon,  was  the  old  cloud  to  close  in 
again  above  her,  until  her  weary  eyes  should 
open  in  the  light  of  Paradise.  For  that  son 
dropped  dead,  some  say  at  the  very  council -table, 
leaving  behind  him  naught  but  broken  fortunes, 
and  huge  purposes  which  never  were  fulfilled; 
and  the  stormy  star  of  that  bold  race  was  set  for- 
ever, and  Lady  Hawkins  bowed  her  weary  head 
and  died,  the  groan  of  those  stolen  negroes  ring- 
ing in  her  ears,  having  lived  long  enough  to  see 
her  husband's  youthful  sin  become  a  national 
institution,  and  a  national  curse  for  generations 
yet  unborn. 

I  know  not  why  she  opened  her  heart  that 
night  to  Adrian  Gilbert,  with  a  frankness  which 
she  would  hardly  have  dared  to  use  to  her  own 


406  Westward  Ho ! 

family.  Perhaps  it  was  that  Adrian,  like  his 
great  brothers,  Humphrey  and  Raleigh,  was  a 
man  full  of  all  lofty  and  delicate  enthusiasms, 
tender  and  poetical,  such  as  women  cling  to  when 
their  hearts  are  lonely;  but  so  it  was;  and 
Adrian,  half  ashamed  of  his  own  ambitious 
dreams,  sate  looking  at  her  a  while  in  silence; 
and  then  — 

"  The  Lord  be  with  you,  dearest  lady.  Strange, 
how  you  women  sit  at  home  to  love  and  suffer, 
while  we  men  rush  forth  to  break  our  hearts  and 
yours  against  rocks  of  our  own  seeking !  Ah 
well !  were  it  not  for  Scripture,  I  should  have 
thought  that  Adam,  rather  than  Eve,  had  been 
the  one  who  plucked  the  fruit  of  the  forbidden 
tree." 

"  We  women,  I  fear,  did  the  deed  nevertheless ; 
for  we  bear  the  doom  of  it  our  lives  long. " 

"You  always  remind  me,  madam,  of  my  dear 
Mrs.  Leigh  of  Burrough,  and  her  counsels." 

"  Do  you  see  her  often  ?  I  hear  of  her  as  one 
of  the  Lord's  most  precious  vessels." 

"I  would  have  done  more  ere  now  than  see 
her,"  said  he  with  a  blush,  "had  she  allowed  me: 
but  she  lives  only  for  the  memory  of  her  husband 
and  the  fame  of  her  noble  sons. " 

As  he  spoke  the  door  opened,  and  in  walked, 
wrapped  in  his  rough  sea-gown,  none  other  than 
one  of  those  said  noble  sons. 

Adrian  turned  pale. 

"Amyas  Leigh!  What  brings  you  hither? 
How  fares  my  brother?  Where  is  the  ship?" 

"Your  brother  is  well,  Mr.  Gilbert.  The 
Golden  Hind  is  gone  on  to  Dartmouth,  with 
Mr.  Hayes.  I  came  ashore  here,  meaning  to  go 


How  the  Golden  Hind  Came  Home  407 

north  to  Bideford,  ere  I  went  to  London.  I 
called  at  Drake's  just  now,  but  he  was  away." 

"The  Golden  Hind?  What  brings  her  home 
so  soon? 

"Yet  welcome  ever,  sir,"  said  Mrs.  Hawkins. 
"This  is  a  great  surprise,  though.  Captain  John 
did  not  look  for  you  till  next  year." 

Amyas  was  silent. 

"  Something  is  wrong  !  "  cried  Adrian.  "  Speak  !  " 

Amyas  tried,  but  could  not. 

"Will  you  drive  a  man  mad,  sir?  Has  the  ad- 
venture failed  ?  You  said  my  brother  was  well. " 

"He  is  well." 

"  Then  what  —  Why  do  you  look  at  me  in  that 
fashion,  sir?"  and  springing  up,  Adrian  rushed 
forward,  and  held  the  candle  to  Amyas 's  face. 

Amyas's  lip  quivered,  as  he  laid  his  hand  on 
Adrian's  shoulder. 

"  Your  great  and  glorious  brother,  sir,  is  better 
bestowed  than  in  settling  Newfoundland." 

"  Dead  ?  "  shrieked  Adrian. 

"  He  is  with  the  God  whom  he  served  !  " 

"  He  was  always  with  Him,  like  Enoch  :  parable 
me  no  parables,  if  you  love  me,  sir ! " 

"And,  like  Enoch,  he  was  not;  for  God  took 
him." 

Adrian  clasped  his  hands  over  his  forehead, 
and  leaned  against  the  table. 

"Go  on,  sir,  go  on.  God  will  give  me  strength 
to  hear  all." 

And  gradually  Amyas  opened  to  Adrian  that 
tragic  story,  which  Mr.  Hayes  has  long  ago  told 
far  too  well  to  allow  a  second  edition  of  it  from 
me:  of  the  unruliness  of  the  men,  ruffians,  as  I 
said  before,  caught  up  at  hap-hazard ;  of  conspira- 


408  Westward  Ho ! 

cies  to  carry  off  the  ships,  plunder  of  fishing 
vessels,  desertions  multiplying  daily;  licenses 
from  the  general  to  the  lazy  and  fearful  to  return 
home :  till  Adrian  broke  out  with  a  groan  — 

"  From  him  ?  Conspired  against  him  ?  Deserted 
from  him  ?  Dotards,  buzzards !  Where  would 
they  have  found  such  another  leader?" 

"Your  illustrious  brother,  sir,"  said  Amyas, 
"if  you  will  pardon  me,  was  a  very  great  phi- 
losopher, but  not  so  much  of  a  general." 

"  General,  sir  ?     Where  was  braver  man  ?  " 

"Not  on  God's  earth,  but  that  does  not  make 
a  general,  sir.  If  Cortez  had  been  brave  and  no 
more,  Mexico  would  have  been  Mexico  still. 
The  truth  is,  sir,  Cortez,  like  my  Captain  Drake, 
knew  when  to  hang  a  man ;  and  your  great  brother 
did  not." 

Amyas,  as  I  suppose,  was  right.  Gilbert  was 
a  man  who  could  be  angry  enough  at  baseness 
or  neglect,  but  who  was  too  kindly  to  punish  it ; 
he  was  one  who  could  form  the  wisest  and  best- 
digested  plans,  but  who  could  not  stoop  to  that 
hail-fellow-well-met  drudgery  among  his  subor- 
dinates which  has  been  the  talisman  of  great 
captains. 

Then  Amyas  went  on  to  tell  the  rest  of  his 
story;  the  setting  sail  from  St.  John's  to  discover 
the  southward  coast ;  Sir  Humphrey's  chivalrous 
determination  to  go  in  the  little  Squirrel  of  only 
ten  tons,  and  "overcharged  with  nettings,  fights, 
and  small  ordnance,"  not  only  because  she  was 
more  fit  to  examine  the  creeks,  but  because  he 
had  heard  of  some  taunt  against  him  among  the 
men,  that  he  was  afraid  of  the  sea. 

After  that,  woe  on  woe ;  how,  seven  days  after 


How  the  Golden  Hind  Came  Home  409 

they  left  Cape  Raz,  their  largest  ship,  the  Delight, 
after  she  had  "  most  part  of  the  night "  (I  quote 
Hayes),  "  like  the  swan  that  singeth  before  her 
death,  continued  in  sounding  of  trumpets,  drums, 
and  fifes,  also  winding  of  the  cornets  and  haut- 
boys, and,  in  the  end  of  their  jollity,  left  off  with 
the  battle  and  doleful  knells,"  struck  the  next 
day  (the  Golden  Hind  and  the  Squirrel  sheering 
off  just  in  time)  upon  unknown  shoals;  where 
were  lost  all  but  fourteen,  and  among  them 
Frank's  philosopher  friend,  poor  Budaeus;  and 
those  who  escaped,  after  all  horrors  of  cold  and 
famine,  were  cast  on  shore  in  Newfoundland. 
How,  worn  out  with  hunger  and  want  of  clothes, 
the  crews  of  the  two  remaining  ships  persuaded 
Sir  Humphrey  to  sail  toward  England  on  the 
3 ist  of  August;  and  on  "that  very  instant,  even 
in  winding  about,"  beheld  close  alongside  "a 
very  lion  in  shape,  hair,  and  color,  not  swim- 
ming, but  sliding  on  the  water,  with  his  whole 
body ;  who  passed  along,  turning  his  head  to  and 
fro,  yawning  and  gaping  wide,  with  ugly  demon- 
stration of  long  teeth  and  glaring  eyes ;  and  to 
bid  us  farewell  (coming  right  against  the  Hind) 
he  sent  forth  a  horrible  voice,  roaring  or  bellow- 
ing as  doth  a  lion. "  "  What  opinion  others  had 
thereof,  and  chiefly  the  general  himself,  I  for- 
bear to  deliver;  but  he  took  it  for  bonum  omen, 
rejoicing  that  he  was  to  war  against  such  an 
enemy,  if  it  were  the  devil." 

"And  the  devil  it  was,  doubtless,"  said  Adrian, 
"the  roaring  lion  who  goes  about  seeking  whom 
he  may  devour." 

"  He  has  not  got  your  brother,  at  least,"  quoth, 
Amyas. 


410  Westward  Ho! 

"No,"  rejoined  Mrs.  Hawkins  (smile  not, 
reader,  for  those  were  days  in  which  men  believed 
in  the  devil) ;  "  he  roared  for  joy  to  think  how 
many  poor  souls  would  be  left  still  in  heathen 
darkness  by  Sir  Humphrey's  death.  God  be  with 
that  good  knight,  and  send  all  mariners  where  he 
is  now ! " 

Then  Amyas  told  the  last  scene;  how,  when 
they  were  off  the  Azores,  the  storms  came  on 
heavier  than  ever,  with  "terrible  seas,  breaking 
short  and  pyramid-wise,"  till,  on  the  Qth  Sep- 
tember, the  tiny  Squirrel  nearly  foundered  and 
yet  recovered;  "and  the  general,  sitting  abaft 
with  a  book  in  his  hand,  cried  out  to  us  in  the 
Hind  so  oft  as  we  did  approach  within  hearing, 
'  We  are  as  near  heaven  by  sea  as  by  land, '  reiter- 
ating the  same  speech,  well  beseeming  a  soldier 
resolute  in  Jesus  Christ,  as  I  can  testify  he  was. 

"  The  same  Monday,  about  twelve  of  the  clock, 
or  not  long  after,  the  frigate  (the  Squirrel)  being 
ahead  of  us  in  the  Golden  Hind,  suddenly  her 
lights  were  out ;  and  withal  our  watch  cried,  the 
general  was  cast  away,  which  was  true;  for  in 
that  moment  the  frigate  was  devoured  and  swal- 
lowed up  of  the  sea. " 

And  so  ended  (I  have  used  Hayes'  own  words) 
Amyas  Leigh's  story. 

"Oh,  my  brother!  my  brother!"  moaned  poor 
Adrian;  "the  glory  of  his  house,  the  glory  of 
Devon!" 

"Ah!  what  will  the  queen  say?"  asked  Mrs. 
Hawkins  through  her  tears. 

"Tell  me,"  asked  Adrian,  "had  he  the  jewel 
on  when  he  died?" 

"The  queen's  jewel?    He  always  wore  that, 


How  the  Golden  Hind  Came  Home  411 

and  his  own  posy  too,  '  Mutare  vel  timere  sperno.' 
He  wore  it;  and  he  lived  it." 

"Ay,"  said  Adrian,  "the  same  to  the  last!  " 

"Not  quite  that,"  said  Amyas.  "He  was  a 
meeker  man  latterly  than  he  used  to  be.  As  he 
said  himself  once,  a  better  refiner  than  any  whom 
he  had  on  board  had  followed  him  close  all  the 
seas  over,  and  purified  him  in  the  fire.  And  gold 
seven  times  tried  he  was,  when  God,  having  done 
His  work  in  him,  took  him  home  at  last." 

And  so  the  talk  ended.  There  was  no  doubt 
that  the  expedition  had  been  an  utter  failure; 
Adrian  was  a  ruined  man;  and  Amyas  had  lost 
his  venture. 

Adrian  rose,  and  begged  leave  to  retire;  he 
must  collect  himself. 

"  Poor  gentleman  !  "  said  Mrs.  Hawkins ;  "  it 
is  little  else  he  has  left  to  collect." 

"Or  I  either,"  said  Amyas.  "I  was  going  to 
ask  you  to  lend  me  one  of  your  son's  shirts,  and 
five  pounds  to  get  myself  and  my  "men  home." 

"Five?  Fifty,  Mr.  Leigh!  God  forbid  that 
John  Hawkins's  wife  should  refuse  her  last  penny 
to  a  distressed  mariner,  and  he  a  gentleman  born. 
But  you  must  eat  and  drink." 

"It's  more  than  I  have  done  for  many  a  day 
worth  speaking  of." 

And  Amyas  sat  down  in  his  rags  to  a  good 
supper,  while  Mrs.  Hawkins  told  him  all  the 
news  which  she  could  of  his  mother,  whom  Adrian 
Gilbert  had  seen  a  few  months  before  in  London ; 
and  then  went  on,  naturally  enough,  to  the  Bide- 
ford  news. 

"And  by  the  by,  Captain  Leigh,  I  've  sad  news 
for  you  from  your  place ;  and  I  had  it  from  one 


412  Westward  Ho  ! 

who  was  there  at  the  time.  You  must  know  a 
Spanish  captain,  a  prisoner " 

"  What,  the  one  I  sent  home  from  Smerwick  ?  " 

"  You  sent  ?  Mercy  on  us  1  Then,  perhaps, 
you  've  heard " 

"  How  can  I  have  heard  ?     What  ?  " 

"  That  he  's  gone  off,  the  villain  ?  " 

"  Without  paying  his  ransom  ? " 

"I  can't  say  that;  but  there  's  a  poor  innocent 
young  maid  gone  off  with  him,  one  Salterne's 
daughter  —  the  Popish  serpent!" 

"Rose  Salterne,  the  mayor's  daughter,  the 
Rose  of  Torridge !  " 

"That's  her.  Bless  your  dear  soul,  what  ails 
you?" 

Amyas  had  dropped  back  in  his  seat  as  if  he 
had  been  shot;  but  he  recovered  himself  before 
kind  Mrs.  Hawkins  could  rush  to  the  cupboard 
for  cordials. 

"You'll  forgive  me,  madam;  but  I'm  weak 
from  the  sea ;  and  your  good  ale  has  turned  me  a 
bit  dizzy,  I  think." 

"Ay,  yes,  'tis  too,  too  heavy,  till  you've  been 
on  shore  a  while.  Try  the  aqua  vitae;  my  Cap- 
tain John  has  it  right  good ;  and  a  bit  too  fond  of 
it  too,  poor  dear  soul,  between  whiles,  Heaven 
forgive  him !  " 

So  she  poured  some  strong  brandy  and  water 
down  Amyas' s  throat,  in  spite  of  his  refusals,  and 
sent  him  to  bed,  but  not  to  sleep;  and  after  a 
night  of  tossing,  he  started  for  Bideford,  having 
obtained  the  means  for  so  doing  from  Mrs. 
Hawkins. 


CHAPTER   XIV 

HOW    SALVATION  YEO    SLEW  THE    KING   OF  THE 
GUBBINGS 

"  Ignorance  and  evil,  even  in  full  flight,  deal  terrible  back- 
handed strokes  at  their  pursuers."  —  HELPS. 

NOW  I  am  sorry  to  say,  for  the  honor  of  my 
country,  that  it  was  by  no  means  a  safe 
thing  in  those  days  to  travel  from  Plymouth  to 
the  north  of  Devon;  because,  to  get  to  your 
journey's  end,  unless  you  were  minded  to  make 
a  circuit  of  many  miles,  you  must  needs  pass 
through  the  territory  of  a  foreign  and  hostile 
potentate,  who  had  many  times  ravaged  the 
dominions,  and  defeated  the  forces  of  her  Majesty 
Queen  Elizabeth,  and  was  named  (behind  his  back 
at  least)  the  King  of  the  Gubbings.  "  So  now  I 
dare  call  them,"  says  Fuller,  "secured  by  dis- 
tance, which  one  of  more  valor  durst  not  do  to 
their  face,  for  fear  their  fury  fall  upon  him.  Yet 
hitherto  have  I  met  with  none  who  could  render  a 
reason  of  their  name.  We  call  the  shavings  of 
fish  (which  are  little  worth)  gubbings;  and  sure 
it  is  that  they  are  sensible  that  the  word  im- 
porteth  shame  and  disgrace. 

"As  for  the  suggestion  of  my  worthy  and 
learned  friend,  Mr.  Joseph  Maynard,  that  such 
as  did  inhabitare  montes  gibberosos,  were  called 
Gubbings,  such  will  smile  at  the  ingenuity  who 
dissent  from  the  truth  of  the  etymology. 


414  Westward  Ho  ! 

"  I  have  read  of  an  England  beyond  Wales,  but 
the  Gubbings  land  is  a  Scythia  within  England, 
and  they  pure  heathens  therein.  It  lieth  nigh 
Brent.  For  in  the  edge  of  Dartmoor  it  is  reported 
that,  some  two  hundred  years  since,  two  bad 
women,  being  with  child,  fled  thither  to  hide 
themselves;  to  whom  certain  lewd  fellows  re- 
sorted, and  this  was  their  first  original.  They 
are  a  peculiar  of  their  own  making,  exempt  from 
bishop,  archdeacon,  and  all  authority,  either 
ecclesiastical  or  civil.  They  live  in  cots  (rather 
holes  than  houses)  like  swine,  having  all  in 
common,  multiplied  without  marriage  into  many 
hundreds.  Their  language  is  the  dross  of  the 
dregs  of  the  vulgar  Devonian;  and  the  more 
learned  a  man  is,  the  worse  he  can  understand 
them.  During  our  civil  wars  no  soldiers  were 
quartered  upon  them,  for  fear  of  being  quartered 
amongst  them.  Their  wealth  consisteth  in  other 
men's  goods;  they  live  by  stealing  the  sheep  on 
the  moors ;  and  vain  is  it  for  any  to  search  their 
houses,  being  a  work  beneath  the  pains  of  any 
sheriff,  and  above  the  power  of  any  constable. 
Such  is  their  fleetness,  they  will  outrun  many 
horses;  vivaciousness,  they  outlive  most  men; 
living  in  an  ignorance  of  luxury,  the  extinguisher 
of  life.  They  hold  together  like  bees;  offend 
one,  and  all  will  revenge  his  quarrel. 

"  But  now  I  am  informed  that  they  begin  to  be 
civilized,  and  tender  their  children  to  baptism, 
and  return  to  be  men,  yea,  Christians  again.  I 
hope  no  civil  people  amongst  us  will  turn  bar« 
barians,  now  these  barbarians  begin  to  be 
civilized."1 

1  Fuller,  p.  398. 


How  Salvation  Yeo  Slew  the  King     415 

With  which  quip  against  the  Anabaptists  of 
his  day,  Fuller  ends  his  story;  and  I  leave  him 
to  set  forth  how  Amyas,  in  fear  of  these  same 
Scythians  and  heathens,  rode  out  of  Plymouth  on 
a  right  good  horse,  in  his  full  suit  of  armor, 
carrying  lance  and  sword,  and  over  and  above  two 
great  dags,  or  horse-pistols;  and  behind  him 
Salvation  Yeo,  and  five  or  six  north  Devon  men 
(who  had  served  with  him  in  Ireland,  and  were 
returning  on  furlough),  clad  in  head-pieces  and 
quilted  jerkins,  each  man  with  his  pike  and 
sword,  and  Yeo  with  arquebuse  and  match,  while 
two  sumpter  ponies  carried  the  baggage  of  this 
formidable  troop. 

They  pushed  on  as  fast  as  they  could,  through 
Tavistock,  to  reach  before  nightfall  Lydford, 
where  they  meant  to  sleep ;  but  what  with  buying 
the  horses,  and  other  delays,  they  had  not  been 
able  to  start  before  noon ;  and  night  fell  just  as 
they  reached  the  frontiers  of  the  enemy's  country. 
A  dreary  place  enough  it  was,  by  the  wild  glare 
of  sunset.  A  high  tableland  of  heath,  banked  on 
the  right  by  the  crags  and  hills  of  Dartmoor,  and 
sloping  away  to  the  south  and  west  toward  the 
foot  of  the  great  cone  of  Brent-Tor,  which  towered 
up  like  an  extinct  volcano  (as  some  say  that  it 
really  is),  crowned  with  the  tiny  church,  the 
votive  offering  of  some  Plymouth  merchant  of  old 
times,  who  vowed  in  sore  distress  to  build  a 
church  to  the  Blessed  Virgin  on  the  first  point  of 
English  land  which  he  should  sea  Far  away, 
down  those  waste  slopes,  they  could  see  the  tiny 
threads  of  blue  smoke  rising  from  the  dens  of  the 
Gubbings;  and  more  than  once  they  called  a 
halt,  to  examine  whether  distant  furze-bushes 


4i 6  Westward  Ho  f 

and  ponies  might  not  be  the  patrols  of  an  advanc- 
ing army.  It  is  all  very  well  to  laugh  at  it  now, 
in  the  nineteenth  century,  but  it  was  no  laughing 
matter  then ;  as  they  ound  before  they  had  gone 
two  miles  farther. 

On  the  middle  of  the  down  stood  a  wayside 
inn;  a  desolate  and  villainous-looking  lump  of 
lichen-spotted  granite,  with  windows  paper- 
patched,  and  rotting  thatch  kept  down  by  stones 
and  straw-banks;  and  at  the  back  a  rambling 
court-ledge  of  barns  and  walls,  around  which  pigs 
and  barefoot  children  grunted  in  loving  commu- 
nion of  dirt.  At  the  door,  rapt  apparently  in 
the  contemplation  of  the  mountain  peaks  which 
glowed  rich  orange  in  the  last  lingering  sun-rays, 
but  really  watching  which  way  the  sheep  on  the 
moor  were  taking,  stood  the  innkeeper,  a  brawny, 
sodden-visaged,  blear-eyed  six  feet  of  brutishness, 
holding  up  his  hose  with  one  hand,  for  want  of 
points,  and  clawing  with  the  other  his  elf-locks, 
on  which  a  fair  sprinkling  of  feathers  might 
denote:  first,  that  he  was  just  out  of  bed,  having 
been  out  sheep-stealing  all  the  night  before;  and 
secondly,  that  by  natural  genius  he  had  antici- 
pated the  opinion  of  that  great  apostle  of  sliit- 
tishness,  Fridericus  Dedekind,  and  his  faithful 
disciple  Dekker,  which  last  speaks  thus  to  all 
gulls  and  grobians :  "  Consider  that  as  those 
trees  of  cobweb  lawn,  woven  by  spinners  in  the 
fresh  May  mornings,  do  dress  the  curled  heads 
of  the  mountains,  and  adorn  the  swelling  bosoms 
of  the  valleys;  or  as  those  snowy  fleeces,  which 
the  naked  briar  steals  from  the  innocent  sheep  to 
make  himself  a  warm  winter  livery,  are,  to  either 
of  them  both,  an  excellent  ornament;  so  make 


How  Salvation  Yeo  Slew  the  King     417 

thou  account,  that  to  have  feathers  sticking  here 
and  there  on  thy  head  will  embellish  thee,  and 
set  thy  crown  out  rarely.  None  dare  upbraid 
thee,  that  like  a  beggar  thou  hast  lain  on  straw, 
or  like  a  travelling  pedlar  upon  musty  flocks;  for 
those  feathers  will  rise  up  as  witnesses  to  choke 
him  that  says  so,  and  to  prove  thy  bed  to  have 
been  of  the  softest  down."  Even  so  did  those 
feathers  bear  witness  that  the  possessor  of  Rogues' 
Harbor  Inn,  on  Brent-Tor  Down,  whatever  else 
he  lacked,  lacked  not  geese  enough  to  keep  him 
in  soft  lying. 

Presently  he  spies  Amyas  and  his  party  coming 
slowly  over  the  hill,  pricks  up  his  ears,  and 
counts  them;  sees  Amyas 's  armor;  shakes  his 
head  and  grunts;  and  then,  being  a  man  of  few 
words,  utters  a  sleepy  howl  — 

"  Mirooi !  —  Pushing  pooale  I " 

A  strapping  lass  —  whose  only  covering  (for 
country  women  at  wo  k  in  those  days  dispensed 
with  the  ornament  of  a  gown)  is  a  green  bodice 
and  red  petticoat,  neither  of  them  over  ample  — 
brings  out  his  fishing-rod  and  basket,  and  the 
man,  having  tied  up  his  hose  with  some  ends  of 
string,  examines  the  footlink. 

"  Don  vlies'  gone ! " 

"May  be,"  says  Mary;  "shouldn't  hav'  left 
mun  out  to  coort.  May  be  old  hen's  ate  mun 
off.  I  see  her  chocking  about  a  while  agone." 

The  host  receives  this  intelligence  with  an 
oath,  and  replies  by  a  violent  blow  at  Mary's 
head,  which  she,  accustomed  to  such  slight 
matters,  dodges,  and  then  returns  the  blow  with 
good  effect  on  the  shock  head. 

Whereon  mine   host,    equally  accustomed    to 


4i 8  Westward  Ho! 

such  slight  matters,  quietly  shambles  off,  howling 
as  he  departs  — 

"Tell  Patrico!" 

Mary  runs  in,  combs  her  hair,  slips  a  pair  of 
stockings  and  her  best  gown  over  her  dirt,  and 
awaits  the  coming  guests,  who  make  a  few  long 
faces  at  the  "mucksy  sort  of  a  place,"  but  prefer 
to  spend  the  night  there  than  to  bivouac  close  to 
the  enemy's  camp. 

So  the  old  hen  who  has  swallowed  the  dun 
fly  is  killed,  plucked,  and  roasted,  and  certain 
"black  Dartmoor  mutton"  is  put  on  the  gridiron, 
and  being  compelled  to  confess  the  truth  by  that 
fiery  torment,  proclaims  itself  to  all  noses  as 
red-deer  venison.  In  the  meanwhile  Amyas  has 
put  his  horse  and  the  ponies  into  a  shed,  to  which 
he  can  find  neither  lock  nor  key,  and  therefore 
returns  grumbling,  not  without  fear  for  his  steed's 
safety.  The  baggage  is  heaped  in  a  corner  of  the 
room,  and  Amyas  stretches  his  legs  before  a  turf 
fire;  while  Yeo,  who  has  his  notions  about  the 
place,  posts  himself  at  the  door,  and  the  men  are 
seized  with  a  desire  to  superintend  the  cooking, 
probably  to  be  attributed  to  the  fact  that  Mary  is 
cook. 

Presently  Yeo  comes  in  again. 

"There's  a  gentleman  just  coming  up,  sir,  all 
alone. " 

"  Ask  him  to  make  one  of  our  party,  then,  with 
my  compliments."  Yeo  goes  out,  and  returns  in 
five  minutes. 

"Please,  sir,  he's  gone  in  back  ways,  by  the 
court." 

"  Well,  he  has  an  odd  taste,  if  he  makes  him- 
self at  home  here." 


How  Salvation  Yeo  Slew  the  King     419 

Out  goes  Yeo  again,  and  comes  back  once  more 
after  five  minutes,  in  high  excitement. 

"Come  out,  sir;  for  goodness'  sake  come  out. 
I  've  got  him.  Safe  as  a  rat  in  a  trap,  I  have !  " 

"Who?" 

"A  Jesuit,  sir." 

"  Nonsense,  man  !  " 

"  I  tell  you  truth,  sir.  I  went  round  the  house, 
for  I  did  n't  like  the  looks  of  him  as  he  came  up. 
I  knew  he  was  one  of  them  villains  the  minute  he 
came  up,  by  the  way  he  turned  in  his  toes,  and 
put  down  his  feet  so  still  and  careful,  like  as  if 
he  was  afraid  of  offending  God  at  every  step.  So 
I  just  put  my  eye  between  the  wall  and  the  dern 
of  the  gate,  and  I  saw  him  come  up  to  the  back 
door  and  knock,  and  call  '  Mary  !  '  quite  still,  like 
any  Jesuit;  and  the  wench  flies  out  to  him  ready 
to  eat  him ;  and  '  Go  away, '  I  heard  her  say, 
'  there  's  a  dear  man; '  and  then  something  about 
a  '  queer  cuffin  '  (that 's  a  justice  in  these  canters' 
thieves'  Latin);  and  with  that  he  takes  out  a 
somewhat  —  I  '11  swear  it  was  one  of  those  Popish 
Agnuses  —  and  gives  it  her;  and  she  kisses  it, 
and  crosses  herself,  and  asks  him  if  that 's  the 
right  way,  and  then  puts  it  into  her  bosom,  and 
he  says,  'Bless  you,  my  daughter;'  and  then  I 
was  sure  of  the  dog :  and  he  slips  quite  still  to 
the  stable,  and  peeps  in,  and  when  he  sees  no  one 
there,  in  he  goes,  and  out  I  go,  and  shut  to  the 
door,  and  back  a  cart  that  was  there  up  against 
it,  and  call  out  one  of  the  men  to  watch  the 
stable,  and  the  girl's  crying  like  mad." 

"  What  a  fool's  trick,  man  !  How  do  you  know 
that  he  is  not  some  honest  gentleman,  after  all?" 

"Fool  or   none,   sir;   honest   gentlemen   don't 


420  Westward  Ho ! 

give  maidens  Agnuses.  I've  put  him  in;  and 
if  you  want  him  let  out  again,  you  must  come  and 
do  it  yourself,  for  my  conscience  is  against  it, 
sir.  If  the  Lord's  enemies  are  delivered  into  my 
hand,  I'm  answerable,  sir,"  went  on  Yeo  as 
Amyas  hurried  out  with  him.  "  'T  is  written,  '  If 
any  let  one  of  them  go,  his  life  shall  be  for  the 
life  of  him.'" 

So  Amyas  ran  out,  pulled  back  the  cart  grum- 
bling, opened  the  door,  and  began  a  string  of 
apologies  to  —  his  cousin  Eustace. 

Yes,  here  he  was.  with  such  a  countenance, 
half  foolish,  half  venomous,  as  reynard  wears 
when  the  last  spadeful  of  earth  is  thrown  back, 
and  he  is  revealed  sitting  disconsolately  on  his 
tail  within  a  yard  of  the  terriers'  noses. 

Neither  cousin  spoke  for  a  minute  or  two.  At 
last  Amyas  — 

"Well,  cousin  hide-and-seek,  how  long  have 
you  added  horse-stealing  to  your  other  trades  ? " 

"  My  dear  Amyas, "  said  Eustace,  very  meekly, 
"  I  may  surely  go  into  an  inn  stable  without  in- 
tending to  steal  what  is  in  it." 

"Of  course,  old  fellow,"  said  Amyas,  mollified, 
"I  was  only  in  jest.  But  what  brings  you  here? 
Not  prudence,  certainly." 

"  I  am  bound  to  know  no  prudence  save  for  the 
Lord's  work." 

"That's  giving  away  Agnus  Deis,  and  deceiv- 
ing poor  heathen  wenches,  I  suppose, "  said  Yeo. 

Eustace  answered  pretty  roundly  — 

"  Heathens  ?  Yes,  truly ;  you  Protestants  leave 
these  poor  wretches  heathens,  and  then  insult  and 
persecute  those  who,  with  a  devotion  unknown 
to  you,  labor  at  the  danger  of  their  lives  to  make 


How  Salvation  Yeo  Slew  the  King     421 

them  Christians.  Mr.  Amyas  Leigh,  you  can 
give  me  up  to  be  hanged  at  Exeter,  if  it  shall  so 
please  you  to  disgrace  your  own  family;  but  from 
this  spot  neither  you,  no,  nor  all  the  myrmidons 
of  your  queen,  shall  drive  me,  while  there  is  a 
soul  here  left  unsaved." 

"  Come  out  of  the  stable,  at  least,"  said  Amyas; 
"you  don't  want  to  make  the  horses  Papists,  as 
well  as  the  asses,  do  you?  Come  out,  man,  and 
go  to  the  devil  your  own  way.  I  sha'n't  inform 
against  you ;  and  Yeo  here  will  hold  his  tongue 
if  I  tell  him,  I  know." 

"It  goes  sorely  against  my  conscience,  sir;  but 
being  that  he  is  your  cousin,  of  course " 

"  Of  course ;  and  now  come  in  and  eat  with  me ; 
supper's  just  ready,  and  bygones  shall  be  by- 
gones, if  you  will  have  them  so." 

How  much  forgiveness  Eustace  felt  in  his 
heart,  I  know  not :  but  he  knew,  of  course,  that 
he  ought  to  forgive ;  and  to  go  in  and  eat  with 
Amyas  was  to  perform  an  act  of  forgiveness,  and 
for  the  best  of  motives,  too,  for  by  it  the  cause 
of  the  Church  might  be  furthered;  and  acts  and 
motives  being  correct,  what  more  was  needed? 
So  in  he  went ;  and  yet  he  never  forgot  that  scar 
upon  his  cheek;  and  Amyas  could  not  look  him 
in  the  face  but  Eustace  must  fancy  that  his  eyes 
were  on  the  scar,  and  peep  up  from  under  his 
lids  to  see  if  there  was  any  smile  of  triumph  on 
that  honest  visage.  They  talked  away  over  the 
venison,  guardedly  enough  at  first;  but  as  they 
went  on,  Amyas's  straightforward  kindliness 
warmed  poor  Eustace's  frozen  heart;  and  ere 
they  were  aware,  they  found  themselves  talking 
over  old  haunts  and  old  passages  of  their  boyhood 


422  Westward  Ho ! 

—  uncles,  aunts,  and  cousins ;  and  Eustace,  with- 
out any  sinister  intention,  asked  Amyas  why 
he  was  going  to  Bideford,  while  Frank  and  his 
mother  were  in  London. 

"  To  tell  you  the  truth,  I  cannot  rest  till  I  have 
heard  the  whole  story  about  poor  Rose  Salterne. " 

"What  about  her?  "  cried  Eustace. 

"Do  you  not  know?  " 

"How  should  I  know  anything  here?  For 
heaven's  sake,  what  has  happened?" 

Amyas  told  him,  wondering  at  his  eagerness, 
for  he  had  never  had  the  least  suspicion  of 
Eustace's  love. 

Eustace  shrieked  aloud. 

"  Fool,  fool  that  I  have  been !  Caught  in  my 
own  trap  !  Villain,  villain  that  he  is  !  After  all 
he  promised  me  at  Lundy !  " 

And  springing  up,  Eustace  stamped  up  and 
down  the  room,  gnashing  his  teeth,  tossing  his 
head  from  side  to  side,  and  clutching  with  out- 
stretched hands  at  the  empty  air,  with  the  horrible 
gesture  (Heaven  grant  that  no  reader  has  ever 
•witnessed  it !)  of  that  despair  which  still  seeks 
blindly  for  the  object  which  it  knows  is  lost  for- 
ever. 

Amyas  sat  thunderstruck.  His  first  impulse 
was  to  ask,  "Lundy?  What  knew  you  of  him? 
What  had  he  or  you  to  do  at  Lundy  ?  "  but  pity 
conquered  curiosity. 

"  Oh,  Eustace  !     And  you  then  loved  her  too  ?  " 

"Don't  speak  to  mel  Loved  her?  Yes,  sir, 
and  had  as  good  a  right  to  love  her  as  any  one  of 
your  precious  Brotherhood  of  the  Rose.  Don't 
speak  to  me,  I  say,  or  I  shall  do  you  a  mischief! " 

So  -Eustace    knew    of    the    brotherhood    tool 


How  Salvation  Yeo  Slew  the  King     423 

Amyas  longed  to  ask  him  how ;  but  what  use  in 
that?  If  he  knew  it,  he  knew  it;  and  what 
harm?  So  he  only  answered: 

"My  good  cousin,  why  be  wroth  with  me?  If 
you  really  love  her,  now  is  the  time  to  take  counsel 
with  me  how  best  we  shall " 

Eustace  did  not  let  him  finish  his  sentence. 
Conscious  that  he  had  betrayed  himself  upon 
more  points  than  one,  he  stopped  short  in  his 
walk,  suddenly  collected  himself  by  one  great 
effort,  and  eyed  Amyas  from  underneath  his 
brows  with  the  old  down  look. 

"  How  best  we  shall  do  what,  my  valiant  cousin  ?  " 
said  he,  in  a  meaning  and  half-scornful  voice. 
"  What  does  your  most  chivalrous  Brotherhood 
of  the  Rose  purpose  in  such  a  case?" 

Amyas,  a  little  nettled,  stood  on  his  guard  in 
return,  and  answered  bluntly  — 

"  What  the  Brotherhood  of  the  Rose  will  do,  I 
can't  yet  say.  What  it  ought  to  do,  I  have  a 
pretty  sure  guess." 

"  So  have  I.  To  hunt  her  down  as  you  would 
an  outlaw,  because  forsooth  she  has  dared  to  love 
a  Catholic ;  to  murder  her  lover  in  her  arms,  and 
drag  her  home  again  stained  with  his  blood,  to 
be  forced  by  threats  and  persecution  to  renounce 
that  Church  into  whose  maternal  bosom  she  has 
doubtless  long  since  found  rest  and  holiness ! " 

"  If  she  has  found  holiness,  it  matters  little  to 
me  where  she  has  found  it,  Master  Eustace,  but 
that  is  the  very  point  that  I  should  be  glad  to 
know  for  certain." 

"  And  you  will  go  and  discover  for  yourself  ?  " 

"  Have  you  no  wish  to  discover  it  also  ?  " 

"  And  if  I  had,  what  would  that  be  to  you  ?  " 


424  Westward  Ho ! 

"  Only,"  said  Amyas,  trying  hard  to  keep  his 
temper,  "  that,  if  we  had  the  same  purpose,  we 
might  sail  in  the  same  ship." 

"You  intend  to  sail,  then?" 

"  I  mean  simply,  that  we  might  work  together." 

"  Our  paths  lie  on  very  different  roads,  sir !  " 

"  I  am  afraid  you  never  spoke  a  truer  word,  sir. 
In  the  meanwhile,  ere  we  part,  be  so  kind  as  to 
tell  me  what  you  meant  by  saying  that  you  had 
met  this  Spaniard  at  Lundy?" 

"  I  shall  refuse  to  answer  that." 

"You  will  please  to  recollect,  Eustace,  that 
however  good  friends  we  have  been  for  the  last 
half-hour,  you  are  in  my  power.  I  have  a  right 
to  know  the  bottom  of  this  matter ;  and,  by  heaven, 
I  will  know  it." 

"  In  your  power?  See  that  you  are  not  in  mine  ! 
Remember,  sir,  that  you  are  within  a  —  within  a 
few  miles,  at  least,  of  those  who  will  obey  me,  their 
Catholic  benefactor,  but  who  owe  no  allegiance 
to  those  Protestant  authorities  who  have  left  them 
to  the  lot  of  the  beasts  which  perish." 

Amyas  was  very  angry.  He  wanted  but  little 
more  to  make  him  catch  Eustace  by  the  shoulders, 
shake  the  life  out  of  him,  and  deliver  him  into  the 
tender  guardianship  of  Yeo ;  but  he  knew  that  to 
take  him  at  all  was  to  bring  certain  death  on  him, 
and  disgrace  on  the  family;  and  remembering 
Frank's  conduct  on  that  memorable  night  at 
Clovelly,  he  kept  himself  down. 

"  Take  me,"  said  Eustace,  "  if  you  will,  sir.  You, 
who  complain  of  us  that  we  keep  no  faith  with 
heretics,  will  perhaps  recollect  that  you  asked  me 
into  this  room  as  your  guest,  and  that  in  your 
good  faith  I  trusted  when  I  entered  it." 


How  Salvation  Yeo  Slew  the  King     425 

The  argument  was  a  worthless  one  in  law;  for 
Eustace  had  been  a  prisoner  before  he  was  a  guest, 
and  Amyas  was  guilty  of  something  very  like  mis- 
prision  of  treason  in  not  handing  him  over  to  the 
nearest  justice.  However,  all  he  did  was,  to  go  to 
the  door,  open  it,  and  bowing  to  his  cousin,  bid 
him  walk  out  and  go  to  the  devil,  since  he  seemed 
to  have  set  his  mind  on  ending  his  days  in  the 
company  of  that  personage. 

Whereon  Eustace  vanished. 

44  Pooh !  "  said  Amyas  to  himself,  "  I  can  find 
out  enough,  and  too  much,  I  fear,  without  the  help 
of  such  crooked  vermin.  I  must  see  Gary ;  I  must 
see  Salterne ;  and  I  suppose,  if  I  am  ready  to  do 
my  duty,  I  shall  learn  somehow  what  it  is.  Now 
to  sleep ;  to-morrow  up  and  away  to  what  God 
sends." 

"  Come  in  hither,  men,"  shouted  he  down  the 
passage,  "  and  sleep  here.  Have  n't  you  had 
enough  of  this  villainous  sour  cider?" 

The  men  came  in  yawning,  and  settled  them- 
selves to  sleep  on  the  floor. 

"Where's  Yeo?" 

No  one  knew;  he  had  gone  out  to  say  his 
prayers,  and  had  not  returned. 

"  Never  mind,"  said  Amyas,  who  suspected  some 
plot  on  the  old  man's  part.  "  He  '11  take  care  of 
himself,  I  '11  warrant  him." 

14  No  fear  of  that,  sir ; "  and  the  four  tars  were 
soon  snoring  in  concert  round  the  fire,  while 
Amyas  laid  himself  on  the  settle,  with  his  saddle 
for  a  pillow. 

It  was  about  midnight,  when  Amyas  leaped  to 
his  feet,  or  rather  fell   upon   his  back,  upsetting 
Vol.  8—19 


426  Westward  Ho  ! 

saddle,  settle,  and  finally,  table,  under  the  notion 
that  ten  thousand  flying  dragons  were  bursting 
in  the  window  close  to  his  ear,  with  howls  most 
fierce  and  fell.  The  flying  dragons  past,  however, 
being  only  a  flock  of  terror-stricken  geese,  which 
flew  flapping  and  screaming  round  the  corner  of 
the  house ;  but  the  noise  which  had  startled  them 
did  not  pass ;  and  another  minute  made  it  evident 
that  a  sharp  fight  was  going  on  in  the  courtyard, 
and  that  Yeo  was  hallooing  lustily  for  help. 

Out  turned  the  men,  sword  in  hand,  burst  the 
back  door  open,  stumbling  over  pails  and  pitchers, 
and  into  the  courtyard,  where  Yeo,  his  back 
against  the  stable-door,  was  holding  his  own  man- 
fully with  sword  and  buckler  against  a  dozen  men. 

Dire  and  manifold  was  the  screaming;  geese 
screamed,  chickens  screamed,  pigs  screamed, 
donkeys  screamed,  Mary  screamed  from  an  upper 
window;  and  to  complete  the  chorus,  a  flock  of 
plovers,  attracted  by  the  noise,  wheeled  round  and 
round  overhead,  and  added  their  screams  also  to 
that  Dutch  concert. 

The  screaming  went  on,  but  the  fight  ceased; 
for,  as  Amyas  rushed  into  the  yard,  the  whole 
party  of  ruffians  took  to  their  heels,  and  vanished 
over  a  low  hedge  at  the  other  end  of  the  yard. 

"Are  you  hurt,  Yeo?" 

"  Not  a  scratch  thank  Heaven  !  But  I  've  got 
two  of  them,  the  ringleaders,  I  have.  One  of 
them 's  against  the  wall.  Your  horse  did  for 
t'  other." 

The  wounded  man  was  lifted  up ;  a  huge  ruffian, 
nearly  as  big  as  Amyas  himself.  Yeo's  sword  had 
passed  through  his  body.  He  groaned  and  choked 
for  breath. 


How  Salvation  Yeo  Slew  the  King    427 

"Carry  him  indoors.     Where  is  the  other?" 

"  Dead  as  a  herring,  in  the  straw.  Have  a  care, 
men,  have  a  care  how  you  go  in !  the  horses  are 
near  mad  !  " 

However,  the  man  was  brought  out  after  a  while. 
With  him  all  was  over.  They  could  feel  neither 
pulse  nor  breath. 

"  Carry  him  in  too,  poor  wretch.  And  now,  Yeo, 
what  is  the  meaning  of  all  this?" 

Yeo's  story  was  soon  told.  He  could  not  get 
out  of  his  Puritan  head  the  notion  (quite  un- 
founded, of  course)  that  Eustace  had  meant  to 
steal  the  horses.  He  had  seen  the  inn-keeper 
sneak  off  at  their  approach ;  and  expecting  some 
night-attack,  he  had  taken  up  his  lodging  for  the 
night  in  the  stable. 

As  he  expected,  an  attempt  was  made.  The 
door  was  opened  (how,  he  could  not  guess,  for  he 
had  fastened  it  inside),  and  two  fellows  came  in, 
and  began  to  loose  the  beasts.  Yeo's  account  was, 
that  he  seized  the  big  fellow,  who  drew  a  knife  on 
him,  and  broke  loose ;  the  horses,  terrified  at  the 
scuffle,  kicked  right  and  left;  one  man  fell,  and  the 
other  ran  out,  calling  for  help,  with  Yeo  at  his 
heels ;  "  Whereon,"  said  Yeo,  "  seeing  a  dozen 
more  on  me  with  clubs  and  bows,  I  thought 
best  to  shorten  the  number  while  I  could,  ran  the 
rascal  through,  and  stood  on  my  ward ;  and  only 
just  in  time  I  was,  what 's  more  ;  there 's  two  arrows 
in  the  house  wall,  and  two  or  three  more  in  my 
buckler,  which  I  caught  up  as  I  went  out,  for  I  had 
hung  it  close  by  the  door,  you  see,  sir,  to  be  all 
ready  in  case,"  said  the  cunning  old  Philistine- 
slayer,  as  they  went  in  after  the  wounded  man. 

But  hardly  had  they  stumbled  through  the  low 


428  Westward  Ho ! 

doorway  into  the  back-kitchen  when  a  fresh  hubbub 
arose  inside  —  more  shouts  for  help.  Amyas  ran 
forward  breaking  his  head  against  the  doorway, 
and  beheld,  as  soon  as  he  could  see  for  the  flashes 
in  his  eyes,  an  old  acquaintance,  held  on  each  side 
by  a  sturdy  sailor. 

With  one  arm  in  the  sleeve  of  his  doublet,  and 
the  other  in  a  not  over  spotless  shirt ;  holding  up 
his  hose  with  one  hand,  and  with  the  other  a  candle, 
whereby  he  had  lighted  himself  to  his  own  confu- 
sion ;  foaming  with  rage,  stood  Mr.  Evan  Morgans, 
alias  Father  Parsons,  looking,  between  his  confused 
habiliments  and  his  fiery  visage  (as  Yeo  told  him 
to  his  face),  "the  very  moral  of  a  half-plucked 
turkey-cock."  And  behind  him,  dressed,  stood 
Eustace  Leigh. 

"  We  found  the  maid  letting  these  here  two  out 
by  the  front  door,"  said  one  of  the  captors. 

"Well,  Mr.  Parsons,"  said  Amyas;  "and  what 
are  you  about  here  ?  A  pretty  nest  of  thieves  and 
Jesuits  we  seem  to  have  routed  out  this  evening." 

"  About  my  calling,  sir,"  said  Parsons,  stoutly. 
"  By  your  leave,  I  shall  prepare  this  my  wounded 
lamb  for  that  account  to  which  your  man's  cruelty 
has  untimely  sent  him." 

The  wounded  man,  who  lay  upon  the  floor,  heard 
Parsons'  voice,  and  moaned  for  the  "  Patrico." 

"  You  see,  sir,"  said  he,  pompously,  "  the  sheep 
know  their  shepherd's  voice." 

"  The  wolves  you  mean,  you  hypocritical  scoun- 
drel ! "  said  Amyas,  who  could  not  contain  his 
disgust.  "  Let  the  fellow  truss  up  his  points,  lads, 
and  do  his  work.  After  all,  the  man  is  dying." 

"The  requisite  matters,  sir,  are  not  at  hand," 
said  Parsons,  unabashed. 


How  Salvation  Yeo  Slew  the  King    429 

"  Eustace,  go  and  fetch  his  matters  for  him ;  you 
seem  to  be  in  all  his  plots." 

Eustace  went  silently  and  sullenly. 

"  What 's  that  fresh  noise  at  the  back,  now?  " 

"The  maid,  sir,  a  wailing  over  her  uncle;  the 
fellow  that  we  saw  sneak  away  when  we  came  up. 
It  was  him  the  horse  killed." 

It  was  true.  The  wretched  host  had  slipped  off 
on  their  approach,  simply  to  call  the  neighboring 
outlaws  to  the  spoil ;  and  he  had  been  filled  with 
the  fruit  of  his  own  devices. 

"  His  blood  be  on  his  own  head,"  said  Amyas. 

"  I  question,  sir,"  said  Yeo,  in  a  low  voice, 
"  whether  some  of  it  will  not  be  on  the  heads  of 
those  proud  prelates  who  go  clothed  in  purple 
and  fine  linen,  instead  of  going  forth  to  convert 
such  as  he,  and  then  wonder  how  these  Jesuits  get 
hold  of  them.  If  they  give  place  to  the  devil  in 
their  sheepfolds,  sure  he  '11  come  in  and  lodge  there. 
Look,  sir,  there  's  a  sight  in  a  gospel  land  !  " 

And,  indeed,  the  sight  was  curious  enough.  For 
Parsons  was  kneeling  by  the  side  of  the  dying 
man,  listening  earnestly  to  the  confession  which 
the  man  sobbed  out  in  his  gibberish,  between  the 
spasms  of  his  wounded  chest.  Now  and  then 
Parsons  shook  his  head;  and  when  Eustace  re- 
turned with  the  holy  wafer,  and  the  oil  for  extreme 
unction,  he  asked  him,  in  a  low  voice,  "  Ballard, 
interpret  for  me." 

And  Eustace  knelt  down  on  the  other  side  of 
the  sufferer,  and  interpreted  his  thieves'  dialect 
into  Latin;  and  the  dying  man  held  a  hand  of 
each,  and  turned  first  to  one  and  then  to  the 
other  stupid  eyes,  —  not  without  affection,  though, 
and  gratitude. 


430  Westward  Ho ! 

"  I  can't  stand  this  mummery  any  longer,"  said 
Yeo.  "  Here  's  a  soul  perishing  before  my  eyes, 
and  it's  on  my  conscience  to  speak  a  word  in 
season." 

"  Silence  !  "  whispered  Amyas,  holding  him  back 
by  the  arm ;  "  he  knows  them,  and  he  don't  know 
you ;  they  are  the  first  who  ever  spoke  to  him 
as  if  he  had  a  soul  to  be  saved,  and  first  come, 
first  served ;  you  can  do  no  good.  See,  the  man's 
face  is  brightening  already." 

"  But,  sir,  't  is  a  false  peace." 

"  At  all  events  he  is  confessing  his  sins,  Yeo ; 
and  if  that 's  not  good  for  him,  and  you,  and  me, 
what  is?" 

"  Yea,  Amen !  sir ;  but  this  is  not  to  the  right 
person." 

"  How  do  you  know  his  words  will  not  go 
to  the  right  person,  after  all,  though  he  may 
not  send  them  there  ?  By  heaven !  the  man  is 
dead !  " 

It  was  so.  The  dark  catalogue  of  brutal  deeds 
had  been  gasped  out;  but  ere  the  words  of  abso- 
lution could  follow,  the  head  had  fallen  back,  and 
all  was  over. 

"  Confession  in  extremis  is  sufficient,"  said  Par- 
sons to  Eustace  (*'  Ballard,"  as  Parsons  called  him, 
to  Amyas's  surprise),  as  he  rose.  "  As  for  the  rest, 
the  intention  will  be  accepted  instead  of  the  act." 

"  The  Lord  have  mercy  on  his  soul ! "  said 
Eustace. 

"His  soul  is  lost  before  our  very  eyes,"  said 
Yeo. 

"  Mind  your  own  business,"  said  Amyas. 

"  Humph ;  but  I  '11  tell  you,  sir,  what  our  busi- 
ness is,  if  you  '11  step  aside  with  me.  I  find  that 


How  Salvation  Yeo  Slew  the  King    431 

poor  fellow  that  lies  dead  is  none  other  than  the 
leader  of  the  Cubbings ;  the  king  of  them,  as  they 
dare  to  call  him." 

"Well,  what  of  that?" 

"  Mark  my  words,  sir,  if  we  have  not  a  hundred 
stout  rogues  upon  us  before  two  hours  are  out; 
forgive  us  they  never  will ;  and  if  we  get  off  with 
our  lives,  which  I  don't  much  expect,  we  shall 
leave  our  horses  behind ;  for  we  can  hold  the 
house,  sir,  well  enough  till  morning,  but  the  court- 
yard we  can't,  that 's  certain  !  " 

"  We  had  better  march  at  once,  then." 

"  Think,  sir ;  if  they  catch  us  up  —  as  they  are 
sure  to  do,  knowing  the  country  better  than  we  — -- 
how  will  our  shot  stand  their  arrows?  " 

"True,  old  wisdom;  we  must  keep  the  road; 
and  we  must  keep  together;  and  so  be  a  mark 
for  them,  while  they  will  be  behind  every  rock 
and  bank ;  and  two  or  three  flights  of  arrows  will 
do  our  business  for  us.  Humph !  stay,  I  have 
a  plan."  And  stepping  forward  he  spoke  — 

"  Eustace,  you  will  be  so  kind  as  to  go  back 
to  your  lambs ;  and  tell  them,  that  if  they  meddle 
with  us  cruel  wolves  again  to-night,  we  are  ready 
and  willing  to  fight  to  the  death,  and  have  plenty 
of  shot  and  powder  at  their  service.  Father  Par- 
sons, you  will  be  so  kind  as  to  accompany  us; 
it  is  but  fitting  that  the  shepherd  should  be 
hostage  for  his  sheep." 

"  If  you  carry  me  off  this  spot,  sir,  you  carry 
my  corpse  only,"  said  Parsons.  "  I  may  as  well 
die  here  as  be  hanged  elsewhere,  like  my  martyred 
brother  Campian." 

"  If  you  take  him,  you  must  take  me  too,"  said 
Eustace. 


432  Westward  Ho! 

"What  if  we  won't?" 

"  How  will  you  gain  by  that?  you  can  only 
leave  me  here.  You  cannot  make  me  go  to  the 
Gubbings,  if  I  do  not  choose." 

Amyas  uttered  sotto  voce  an  anathema  on 
Jesuits,  Gubbings,  and  things  in  general.  He  was 
in  a  great  hurry  to  get  to  Bideford,  and  he  feared 
that  this  business  would  delay  him,  as  it  was,  a  day 
or  two.  He  wanted  to  hang  Parsons,  he  did  not 
want  to  hang  Eustace ;  and  Eustace,  he  knew,  was 
well  aware  of  that  latter  fact,  and  played  his  game 
accordingly;  but  time  ran  on,  and  he  had  to 
answer  sulkily  enough: 

"  Well  then ;  if  you,  Eustace,  will  go  and  give 
my  message  to  your  converts,  I  will  promise  to  set 
Mr.  Parsons  free  again  before  we  come  to  Lydford 
town ;  and  I  advise  you,  if  you  have  any  regard 
for  his  life,  to  see  that  your  eloquence  be  per- 
suasive enough;  for  as  sure  as  I  am  an  English- 
man, and  he  none,  if  the  Gubbings  attack  us,  the 
first  bullet  that  I  shall  fire  at  them  will  have  gone 
through  his  scoundrelly  brains." 

Parsons  still  kicked. 

"  Very  well,  then,  my  merry  men  all.  Tie  this 
gentleman's  hands  behind  his  back,  get  the  horses 
out,  and  we  '11  right  away  up  into  Dartmoor,  find  a 
good  high  tor,  stand  our  ground  there  till  morning, 
and  then  carry  him  into  Okehampton  to  the  near- 
est justice.  If  he  chooses  to  delay  me  in  my  jour- 
ney, it  is  fair  that  I  should  make  him  pay  for  it." 

Whereon  Parsons  gave  in,  and  being  fast  tied  by 
his  arm  to  Amyas's  saddle,  trudged  alongside  his 
horse  for  several  weary  miles,  while  Yeo  walked  by 
his  side,  like  a  friar  by  a  condemned  criminal ;  and 
in  order  to  keep  up  his  spirits,  told  him  the  woful 


How  Salvation  Yeo  Slew  the  King    433 

end  of  Nicholas  Saunders  the  Legate,  and  how  he 
was  found  starved  to  death  in  a  bog. 

"  And  if  you  wish,  sir,  to  follow  in  his  blessed 
steps,  which  f  heartily  hope  you  will  do,  you  have 
only  to  go  over  that  big  cow-backed  hill  there  on 
your  right  hand,  and  down  again  the  other  side  to 
Crawmere  pool,  and  there  you  '11  find  as  pretty  a 
bog  to  die  in  as  ever  Jesuit  needed;  and  your 
ghost  may  sit  there  on  a  grass  tummock,  and  tell 
your  beads  without  any  one  asking  for  you  till  the 
day  of  judgment;  and  much  good  may  it  do 
you  1 " 

At  which  imagination  Yeo  was  actually  heard, 
for  the  first  and  last  time  in  this  history,  to  laugh 
most  heartily. 

His  ho-ho's  had  scarcely  died  away  when  they 
saw  shining  under  the  moon  the  old  tower  of 
Lydford  castle. 

"  Cast  the  fellow  off  now,"  said  Amyas. 

"  Ay,  ay,  sir ! "  and  Yeo  and  Simon  Evans 
stopped  behind,  and  did  not  come  up  for  ten 
minutes  after. 

"  What  have  you  been  about  so  long?  " 

"  Why,  sir,"  said  Evans,  "  you  see  the  man  had 
a  very  fair  pair  of  hose  on,  and  a  bran-new  kersey 
doublet,  very  warm-lined ;  and  so,  thinking  it  a 
pity  good  clothes  should  be  wasted  on  such 
noxious  trade,  we've  just  brought  them  along 
with  us." 

"  Spoiling  the  Egyptians,"  said  Yeo  as  comment. 

"  And  what  have  you  done  with  the  man?" 

"  Hove  him  over  the  bank,  sir;  he  pitched  into 
a  big  furze-bush,  and  for  aught  I  know,  there  he  '11 
bide." 

"You  rascal,  have  you  killed  him?  " 


434  Westward  Ho! 

"  Never  fear,  sir,"  said  Yeo,  in  his  cool  fashion. 
"  A  Jesuit  has  as  many  lives  as  a  cat,  and,  I  believe, 
rides  broomsticks  post,  like  a  witch.  He  would  be 
at  Lydford  now  before  us,  if  his  master  Satan  had 
any  business  for  him  there." 

Leaving  on  their  left  Lydford  and  its  ill-omened 
castle  (which,  a  century  after,  was  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal scenes  of  Judge  Jeffreys's  cruelty),  Amyas 
and  his  party  trudged  on  through  the  mire  toward 
Okehampton  till  sunrise ;  and  ere  the  vapors  had 
lifted  from  the  mountain  tops,  they  were  descend- 
ing the  long  slopes  from  Sourton  down,  while  Yes- 
tor  and  Amicombe  slept  steep  and  black  beneath 
their  misty  pall ;  and  roaring  far  below  unseen, 

"  Ockment  leapt  from  crag  and  cloud 
Down  her  cataracts,  laughing  loud." 

The  voice  of  the  stream  recalled  these  words  to 
Amyas's  mind.  The  nymph  of  Torridge  had 
spoken  them  upon  the  day  of  his  triumph.  He 
recollected,  too,  his  vexation  on  that  day  at  not 
seeing  Rose  Salterne.  Why,  he  had  never  seen 
her  since.  Never  seen  her  now  for  six  years  and 
more !  Of  her  ripened  beauty  he  knew  only  by 
hearsay;  she  was  still  to  him  the  lovely  fifteen 
years'  girl  for  whose  sake  he  had  smitten  the  Barn- 
staple  draper  over  the  quay.  What  a  chain  of 
petty  accidents  had  kept  them  from  meeting, 
though  so  often  within  a  mile  of  each  other! 
"  And  what  a  lucky  one ! "  said  practical  old 
Amyas  to  himself.  "  If  I  had  seen  her  as  she  is 
now,  I  might  have  loved  her  as  Frank  does  —  poor 
Frank !  what  will  he  say  ?  What  does  he  say,  for 
he  must  know  it  already?  And  what  ought  I  to 
say  —  to  do  rather,  for  talking  is  no  use  on  this 


How  Salvation  Yeo  Slew  the  King    435 

side  the  grave,  nor  on  the  other  either,  I  expect ! " 
And  then  he  asked  himself  whether  his  old  oath 
meant  nothing  or  something;  whether  it  was  a 
mere  tavern  frolic,  or  a  sacred  duty.  And  he  held, 
the  more  that  he  looked  at  it,  that  it  meant  the 
latter. 

But  what  could  he  do?  He  had  nothing  on 
earth  but  his  sword,  so  he  could  not  travel  to  find 
her.  After  all,  she  might  not  be  gone  far.  Per- 
haps not  gone  at  all.  It  might  be  a  mistake,  an 
exaggerated  scandal.  He  would  hope  so.  And 
yet  it  was  evident  that  there  had  been  some  pas- 
sages between  her  and  Don  Guzman.  Eustace's 
mysterious  words  about  the  promise  at  Lundy 
proved  that.  The  villain !  He  had  felt  all  along 
that  he  was  a  villain;  but  just  the  one  to  win  a 
woman's  heart,  too.  Frank  had  been  away  —  all 
the  Brotherhood  away.  What  a  fool  he  had  been, 
to  turn  the  wolf  loose  into  the  sheepfold !  And 
yet  who  would  have  dreamed  of  it?  .  .  . 

"  At  all  events,"  said  Amyas,  trying  to  comfort 
himself,  "  I  need  not  complain.  I  have  lost  noth- 
ing. I  stood  no  more  chance  of  her  against  Frank 
than  I  should  have  stood  against  the  Don.  So 
there  is  no  use  for  me  to  cry  about  the  matter." 
And  he  tried  to  hum  a  tune  concerning  the  general 
frailty  of  women,  but  nevertheless,  like  Sir  Hugh, 
felt  that  "  he  had  a  great  disposition  to  cry." 

He  never  had  expected  to  win  her,  and  yet  it 
seemed  bitter  to  know  that  she  was  lost  to  him  for- 
ever. It  was  not  so  easy  for  a  heart  of  his  make  to 
toss  away  the  image  of  a  first  love;  and  all  the 
less  easy  because  that  image  was  stained  and 
ruined. 

"  Curses  on  the  man  who  had  done  that  deed ! 


436  West  ward  Ho! 

I  will  yet  have  his  heart's  blood  somehow,  if  I  go 
round  the  world  again  to  find  him.  If  there 's  no 
law  for  it  on  earth,  there 's  law  in  heaven,  or  I  'm 
much  mistaken." 

With  which  determination  he  rode  into  the  ugly, 
dirty,  and  stupid  town  of  Okehampton,  with  which 
fallen  man  (by  some  strange  perversity)  has  chosen 
to  defile  one  of  the  loveliest  sites  in  the  pleasant 
land  of  Devon.  And  heartily  did  Amyas  abuse 
the  old  town  that  day ;  for  he  was  detained  there, 
as  he  expected,  full  three  hours,  while  the  Justice 
Shallow  of  the  place  was  sent  for  from  his  farm 
(whither  he  had  gone  at  sunrise,  after  the  early- 
rising  fashion  of  those  days)  to  take  Yeo's  depo- 
sition concerning  last  night's  affray.  Moreover, 
when  Shallow  came,  he  refused  to  take  the  depo- 
sitions, because  they  ought  to  have  been  made 
before  a  brother  Shallow  at  Lydford ;  and  in  the 
wrangling  which  ensued,  was  very  near  finding  out 
what  Amyas  (fearing  fresh  loss  of  time  and  worse 
evils  beside)  had  commanded  to  be  concealed, 
namely,  the  presence  of  Jesuits  in  that  Moorland 
Utopia.  Then,  in  broadest  Devon  — 

"  And  do  you  call  this  Christian  conduct,  sir,  to 
set  a  quiet  man  like  me  upon  they  Gubbings,  as  if 
I  was  going  to  risk  my  precious  life  —  no,  nor  ever 
a  constable  to  Okehampton  neither?  Let  Lydfor' 
men  mind  Lydfor'  roogs,  and  by  Lydfor'  law  if 
they  will,  hang  first  and  try  after ;  but  as  for  me, 
I've  rade  my  Bible,  and  '  He  that  meddleth  with 
strife  is  like  him  that  taketh  a  dog  by  the  ears.' 
So  if  you  choose  to  sit  down  and  ate  your  break- 
fast with  me,  well  and  good :  but  depositions  I  '11 
have  none.  If  your  man  is  enquired  for,  you'll  be 
answerable  for  his  appearing,  in  course;  but  I 


How  Salvation  Yeo  Slew  the  King    437 

expect  mortally  "  (with  a  wink),  "  you  wain't  hear 
much  more  of  the  matter  from  any  hand.  '  Leave 
well  alone  is  a  good  rule,  but  leave  ill  alone  is 
a  better.'  —  So  we  says  round  about  here ;  and  so 
you  '11  say,  captain,  when  you  be  so  old  as  I." 

So  Amyas  sat  down  and  ate  his  breakfast,  and 
went  on  afterwards  a  long  and  weary  day's  jour- 
ney, till  he  saw  at  last  beneath  him  the  broad 
shining  river,  and  the  long  bridge,  and  the  white 
houses  piled  up  the  hill-side;  and  beyond,  over 
Raleigh  downs,  the  dear  old  tower  of  Northam 
Church. 

Alas !  Northam  was  altogether  a  desert  to  him 
then ;  and  Bideford,  as  it  turned  out,  hardly  less  so. 
For  when  he  rode  up  to  Sir  Richard's  door,  he 
found  that  the  good  knight  was  still  in  Ireland, 
and  Lady  Grenville  at  Stow.  Whereupon  he  rode 
back  again  down  the  High  Street  to  that  same 
bow-windowed  Ship  Tavern  where  the  Brother- 
hood of  the  Rose  made  their  vow,  and  settled  him- 
self in  the  very  room  where  they  had  supped. 

"Ah!  Mr.  Leigh  —  Captain  Leigh  now,  I  beg 
pardon,"  quoth  mine  host.  "  Bideford  is  an  empty 
place  now-a-days,  and  nothing  stirring,  sir.  What 
with  Sir  Richard  to  Ireland,  and  Sir  John  to 
London,  and  all  the  young  gentlemen  to  the  wars, 
there  's  no  one  to  buy  good  liquor,  and  no  one  to 
court  the  young  ladies,  neither.  Sack,  sir?  I 
hope  so.  I  have  n't  brewed  a  gallon  of  it  this  fort- 
night, if  you  '11  believe  me ;  ale,  sir,  and  aqua  vitae, 
and  such  low-bred  trade,  is  all  I  draw  now-a-days. 
Try  a  pint  of  sherry,  sir,  now,  to  give  you  an 
appetite.  You  mind  my  sherry  of  old?  Jane! 
Sherry  and  sugar,  quick,  while  I  pull  off  the  cap- 
tain's boots." 


438  Westward  Ho ! 

Amyas  sat  weary  and  sad,  while  the  innkeeper 
chattered  on. 

"  Ah,  sir !  two  or  three  like  you  would  set  the 
young  ladies  all  alive  again.  By-the-by,  there 's 
been  strange  doings  among  them  since  you  were 
here  last.  You  mind  Mistress  Salterne  !  " 

"  For  God's  sake,  don't  let  us  have  that  story, 
man !  I  heard  enough  of  it  at  Plymouth !  "  said 
Amyas,  in  so  disturbed  a  tone  that  mine  host 
looked  up,  and  said  to  himself — 

"  Ah,  poor  young  gentleman,  he  's  one  of  the 
hard-hit  ones." 

"  How  is  the  old  man?"  asked  Amyas,  after  a 
pause. 

"  Bears  it  well  enough,  sir ;  but  a  changed  man. 
Never  speaks  to  a  soul,  if  he  can  help  it.  Some 
folk  say  he 's  not  right  in  his  head ;  or  turned 
miser,  or  somewhat,  and  takes  naught  but  bread 
and  water,  and  sits  up  all  night  in  the  room  as  was 
hers,  turning  over  her  garments.  Heaven  knows 
what 's  on  his  mind  —  they  do  say  he  was  over 
hard  on  her,  and  that  drove  her  to  it.  All  I  know 
is,  he  has  never  been  in  here  for  a  drop  of  liquor 
(and  he  came  as  regular  every  evening  as  the 
town  clock,  sir)  since  she  went,  except  a  ten  days 
ago,  and  then  he  met  young  Mr.  Gary  at  the  door, 
and  I  heard  him  ask  Mr.  Gary  when  you  would  be 
home,  sir." 

"  Put  on  my  boots  again.     I  '11  go  and  see  him." 

"  Bless  you,  sir !     What,  without  your  sack?" 

"  Drink  it  yourself,  man." 

"  But  you  would  n't  go  out  again  this  time  o* 
night  on  an  empty  stomach,  now?" 

"Fill  my  men's  stomachs  for  them,  and  never 
mind  mine.  It's  market-day,  is  it  not?  Send 


How  Salvation  Yeo  Slew  the  King    439 

out,  and  see  whether  Mr.  Gary  is  still  in  town ; " 
and  Amyas  strode  out,  and  along  the  quay  to 
Bridgeland  Street,  and  knocked  at  Mr.  Salterne's 
door. 

Salterne  himself  opened  it,  with  his  usual  stern 
courtesy. 

"  I  saw  you  coming  up  the  street,  sir.  I  have 
been  expecting  this  honor  from  you  for  some 
time  past.  I  dreamt  of  you  only  last  night,  and 
many  a  night  before  that  too.  Welcome,  sir,  into 
a  lonely  house.  I  trust  the  good  knight  your 
general  is  well." 

:•  "  The  good  knight  my  general  is  with  God  who 
made  him,  Mr.  Salterne." 

"Dead,  sir?" 

"  Foundered  at  sea  on  our  way  home ;  and  the 
Delight  lost  too." 

"  Humph !  "  growled  Salterne,  after  a  minute's 
silence.  "  I  had  a  venture  in  her.  I  suppose  it 's 
gone.  No  matter  —  I  can  afford  it,  sir,  and  more, 
I  trust.  And  he  was  three  years  younger  than  1 1 
And  Draper  Heard  was  buried  yesterday,  five 
years  younger.  —  How  is  it  that  every  one  can 
die,  except  me  ?  Come  in,  sir,  come  in ;  I  have 
forgotten  my  manners." 

And  he  led  Amyas  into  his  parlor,  and  called  to 
the>  apprentices  to  run  one  way,  and  to  the  cook 
to  run  another. 

"You  must  not  trouble  yourself  to  get  me 
supper,  indeed." 

"  I  must  though,  sir,  and  the  best  of  wine  too ; 
and  old  Salterne  had  a  good  tap  of  Alicant  in  old 
time,  old  time,  old  time,  sir !  and  you  must  drink 
it  now,  whether  he  does  or  not!"  and  out  he 
bustled. 


44°  Westward  Ho ! 

Amyas  sat  still,  wondering  what  was  coming 
next,  and  puzzled  at  the  sudden  hilarity  of  the 
man,  as  well  as  his  hospitality,  so  different  from 
what  the  innkeeper  had  led  him  to  expect. 

In  a  minute  more  one  of  the  apprentices  came 
in  to  lay  the  cloth,  and  Amyas  questioned  him 
about  his  master. 

"  Thank  the  Lord  that  you  are  come,  sir,"  said 
the  lad. 

"Why,  then?" 

"  Because  there  '11  be  a  chance  of  us  poor  fellows 
getting  a  little  broken  meat.  We  'm  half-starved 
this  three  months — bread  and  dripping,  bread 
and  dripping,  oh  dear,  sir !  And  now  he  's  sent 
out  to  the  inn  for  chickens,  and  game,  and  salads, 
and  all  that  money  can  buy,  and  down  in  the  cellar 
haling  out  the  best  of  wine."  —  And  the  lad 
smacked  his  lips  audibly  at  the  thought. 

"  Is  he  out  of  his  mind?  " 

"  I  can't  tell ;  he  saith  as  how  he  must  save 
mun's  money  now-a-days ;  for  he  've  a  got  a  great 
venture  on  hand :  but  what  a  be  he  tell'th  no  man. 
They  call'th  mun  'bread  and  dripping'  now,  sir, 
all  town  over,"  said  the  prentice,  confidentially, 
to  Amyas. 

"  They  do,  do  they,  sirrah !  Then  they  will 
call  me  bread  and  no  dripping  to-morrow !  "  and 
old  Salterne,  entering  from  behind,  made  a  dash 
at  the  poor  fellow's  ears:  but  luckily  thought 
better  of  it,  having  a  couple  of  bottles  in  each 
hand. 

"  My  dear  sir,"  said  Amyas,  "  you  don't  mean 
us  to  drink  all  that  wine?" 

"Why  not,  sir?"  answered  Salterne,  in  a  grim, 
half-sneering  tone,  thrusting  out  his  square-grizzled 


How  Salvation  Yeo  Slew  the  King    441 

beard  and  chin.  "Why  not,  sir?  why  should  I 
not  make  merry  when  I  have  the  honor  of  a  noble 
captain  in  my  house  ?  one  who  has  sailed  the  seas, 
sir,  and  cut  Spaniards'  throats ;  and  may  cut  them 
again  too;  eh,  sir?  Boy,  where 's  the  kettle  and 
the  sugar?  " 

"What  on  earth  is  the  man  at?"  quoth  Amyas 
to  himself — "flattering  me,  or  laughing  at 
me?" 

"  Yes,"  he  ran  on,  half  to  himself,  in  a  deliberate 
tone,  evidently  intending  to  hint  more  than  he 
said,  as  he  began  brewing  the  sack  —  in  plain 
English,  hot  negus ;  "  Yes,  bread  and  dripping 
for  those  who  can't  fight  Spaniards ;  but  the  best 
that  money  can  buy  for  those  who  can.  I  heard 
of  you  at  Smerwick,  sir Yes,  bread  and  drip- 
ping for  me  too  —  I  can't  fight  Spaniards :  but 
for  such  as  you.  Look  here,  sir ;  I  should  like  to 
feed  a  crew  of  such  up,  as  you  'd  feed  a  main  of 
fighting-cocks,  and  then  start  them  with  a  pair 
of  Sheffield  spurs  a-piece  —  you've  a  good  one 
there  to  your  side,  sir :  but  don't  you  think  a  man 
might  carry  two  now,  and  fight  as  they  say  those 
Chineses  do,  a  sword  to  each  hand?  You  could 
kill  more  that  way,  Captain  Leigh,  I  reckon?  " 

Amyas  half  laughed. 

"One  will  do,  Mr.  Salterne,  if  one  is  quick 
enough  with  it." 

"  Humph !  —  Ah  —  No  use  being  in  a  hurry.  I 
have  n't  been  in  a  hurry.  No  —  I  waited  for  you ; 
and  here  you  are  and  welcome,  sir !  Here  comes 
supper,  a  light  matter,  sir,  you  see.  A  capon  and 
a  brace  of  partridges.  I  had  no  time  to  feast  you 
as  you  deserve." 

And  so  he  ran  on  all  supper-time,  hardly  allow 


442  Westward  Ho! 

ing  Amyas  to  get  a  word  in  edge-ways ;  but  heap- 
ing him  with  coarse  flattery,  and  urging  him  to 
drink,  till  after  the  cloth  was  drawn,  and  the  two 
left  alone,  he  grew  so  outrageous  that  Amyas  was 
forced  to  take  him  to  task  good-humoredly. 

"  Now,  my  dear  sir,  you  have  feasted  me 
royally,  and  better  far  than  I  deserve,  but  why  will 
you  go  about  to  make  me  drunk  twice  over,  first 
with  vainglory  and  then  with  wine  ?  " 

Salterne  looked  at  him  a  while  fixedly,  and  then, 
sticking  out  his  chin  —  "  Because,  Captain  Leigh,  I 
am  a  man  who  has  all  his  life  tried  the  crooked 
road  first,  and  found  the  straight  one  the  safer  after 
all." 

"  Eh,  sir?  That  is  a  strange  speech  for  one  who 
bears  the  character  of  the  most  upright  man  in 
Bideford." 

"  Humph.  So  I  thought  myself  once,  sir ;  and 
well  I  have  proved  it.  But  I  '11  be  plain  with  you, 
sir.  You  've  heard  how  —  how  I  've  fared  since 
you  saw  me  last?" 

Amyas  nodded  his  head. 

"  I  thought  so.  Shame  rides  post.  Now  then, 
Captain  Leigh,  listen  to  me.  I,  being  a  plain  man 
and  a  burgher,  and  one  that  never  drew  iron  in  my 
life  except  to  mend  a  pen,  ask  you,  being  a  gentle- 
man and  a  captain  and  a  man  of  honor,  with  a 
weapon  to  your  side,  and  harness  to  your  back  — 
what  would  you  do  in  my  place  ?  " 

"  Humph !  "  said  Amyas,  "  that  would  very 
much  depend  on  whether  '  my  place  '  was  my  own 
fault  or  not." 

"And  what  if  it  were,  sir?  What  if  all  that  the 
charitable  folks  of  Bideford  —  (Heaven  reward 
them  for  their  tender  mercies!)  —  have  been  tell- 


How  Salvation  Yeo  Slew  the  King    443 

ing  you  in  the  last  hour  be  true,  sir,  —  true  !  and 
yet  not  half  the  truth?" 

Amyas  gave  a  start. 

"  Ah,  you  shrink  from  me  !  Of  course  a  man  is 
too  righteous  to  forgive  those  who  repent,  though 
God  is  not." 

"  God  knows,  sir " 

"  Yes,  sir,  God  does  know  —  all ;  and  you  shall 
know  a  little  —  as  much  as  I  can  tell  —  or  you 
understand.  Come  upstairs  with  me,  sir,  as  you  '11 
drink  no  more ;  I  have  a  liking  for  you.  I  have 
watched  you  from  your  boyhood,  and  I  can  trust 
you,  and  I  '11  show  you  what  I  never  showed  to 
mortal  man  but  one." 

And,  taking  up  a  candle,  he  led  the  way  up- 
stairs, while  Amyas  followed  wondering. 

He  stopped  at  a  door,  and  unlocked  it. 

"There,  come  in.  Those  shutters  have  not 
been  opened  since  she  — "  and  the  old  man  was 
silent. 

Amyas  looked  round  the  room.  It  was  a  low 
wainscoted  room,  such  as  one  sees  in  old  houses : 
everything  was  in  the  most  perfect  neatness.  The 
snow-white  sheets  on  the  bed  were  turned  down 
as  if  ready  for  an  occupant.  There  were  books 
arranged  on  the  shelves,  fresh  flowers  on  the  table ; 
the  dressing-table  had  all  its  woman's  mundus  of 
pins,  and  rings,  and  brushes;  even  the  dressing- 
gown  lay  over  the  chair-back.  Everything  was 
evidently  just  as  it  had  been  left. 

"This  was  her  room,  sir,"  whispered  the  old 
man. 

Amyas  nodded  silently,  and  half  drew  back. 

"  You  need  not  be  modest  about  entering  it 
now,  sir,"  whispered  he,  with  a  sort  of  sneer. 


444  Westward  Ho ! 

"  There  has  been  no  frail  flesh  and  blood  in  it  for 
many  a  day." 

Amyas  sighed. 

"  I  sweep  it  out  myself  every  morning',  and 
keep  all  tidy.  See  here !  "  and  he  pulled  open 
a  drawer.  "  Here  are  all  her  gowns,  and  there 
are  her  hoods ;  and  there  —  I  know  'em  all  by 
heart  now,  and  the  place  of  every  one.  And 
there,  sir " 

And  he  opened  a  cupboard,  where  lay  in  rows 
all  Rose's  dolls,  and  the  worn-out  playthings  of  her 
childhood. 

"That's  the  pleasantest  place  of  all  in  the  room 
to  me,"  said  he,  whispering  still,  "  for  it  minds  me 
of  when  —  and  maybe,  she  may  become  a  little 
child  once  more,  sir ;  it 's  written  in  the  Scripture, 
you  know " 

"  Amen !  "  said  Amyas,  who  felt,  to  his  own 
wonder,  a  big  tear  stealing  down  each  cheek. 

"  And  now,"  he  whispered,  "  one  thing  more. 
Look  here  ! "  —  and  pulling  out  a  key,  he  unlocked 
a  chest,  and  lifted  up  tray  after  tray  of  necklaces 
and  jewels,  furs,  lawns,  cloth  of  gold.  "Look 
there  !  Two  thousand  pound  won't  buy  that  chest. 
Twenty  years  have  I  been  getting  those  things  to- 
gether. That 's  the  cream  of  many  a  Levant  voy- 
age, and  East  Indian  voyage,  and  West  Indian 
voyage.  My  Lady  Bath  can't  match  those  pearls 
in  her  grand  house  at  Tawstock ;  I  got  'em  from  a 
Genoese,  though,  and  paid  for  'em.  Look  at  that 
embroidered  lawn  !  There 's  not  such  a  piece  in 
London ;  no,  nor  in  Alexandria,  I  '11  warrant ;  nor 
short  of  Calicut,  where  it  came  from.  .  .  .  Look 
here  again,  there 's  a  golden  cup  !  I  bought  that 
of  one  that  was  out  with  Pizarro  in  Peru.  And 


How  Salvation  Yeo  Slew  the  King    445 

look  here,  again  !  "  —and  the  old  man  gloated  over 
the  treasure. 

"And  whom  do  you  think  I  kept  all  these  for? 
These  were  for  her  wedding-day  —  for  her  wedding- 
day.  For  your  wedding-day,  if  you  'd  been  minded, 
sir!  Yes,  yours,  sir!  And  yet,  I  believe,  I  was 
so  ambitious  that  I  would  not  have  let  her  marry 
under  an  earl,  all  the  while  I  was  pretending  to  be 
too  proud  to  throw  her  at  the  head  of  a  squire's 
son.  Ah,  well !  There  was  my  idol,  sir.  I  made 
her  mad,  I  pampered  her  up  with  gewgaws  and 
vanity ;  and  then,  because  my  idol  was  just  what  I 
had  made  her,  I  turned  again  and  rent  her. 

"  And  now,"  said  he,  pointing  to  the  open  chest, 
"that  was  what  I  meant;  and  that"  (pointing  to 
the  empty  bed)  "was  what  God  meant.  Never 
mind.  Come  downstairs  and  finish  your  wine.  I 
see  you  don't  care  about  it  all.  Why  should  you  ! 
you  are  not  her  father,  and  you  may  thank  God 
you  are  not.  Go,  and  be  merry  while  you  can, 
young  sir  !  ...  And  yet,  all  this  might  have  been 
yours.  And  —  but  I  don't  suppose  you  are  one 
to  be  won  by  money  —  but  all  this  may  be  yours 
still,  and  twenty  thousand  pounds  to  boot." 

"  I  want  no  money,  sir,  but  what  I  can  earn  with 
my  own  sword." 

"  Earn  my  money,  then  !  " 

"  What  on  earth  do  you  want  of  me  !  " 

"  To  keep  your  oath,"  said  Salterne,  clutching 
his  arm,  and  looking  up  into  his  face  with  search- 
ing eyes. 

"  My  oath !  How  did  you  know  that  I  had 
one?" 

"  Ah !  you  were  well  ashamed  of  it,  I  suppose, 
next  day !  A  drunken  frolic  all  about  a  poor 


446  Westward  Ho! 

merchant's  daughter !  But  there  is  nothing  hid- 
den that  shall  not  be  revealed,  nor  done  in  the 
closet  that  is  not  proclaimed  on  the  house-tops." 

"  Ashamed  of  it,  sir,  I  never  was :  but  I  have  a 
right  to  ask  how  you  came  to  know  it?  " 

"  What  if  a  poor  fat  squinny  rogue,  a  low-born 
fellow  even  as  I  am,  whom  you  had  baffled  and 
made  a  laughing-stock,  had  come  to  me  in  my 
loneliness  and  sworn  before  God  that  if  you  hon- 
orable gentlemen  would  not  keep  your  words, 
he  the  clown  would?" 

"John  Brimblecombe?" 

"  And  what  if  I  had  brought  him  where  I  have 
brought  you,  and  shown  him  what  I  have  shown 
you,  and,  instead  of  standing  as  stiff  as  any  Span- 
iard, as  you  do,  he  had  thrown  himself  on  his  knees 
by  that  bedside,  and  wept  and  prayed,  sir,  till  he 
opened  my  hard  heart  for  the  first  and  last  time, 
and  I  fell  down  on  my  sinful  knees  and  wept  and 
prayed  by  him  ?  " 

"  I  am  not  given  to  weeping,  Mr.  Salterne,"  said 
Amyas ;  "  and  as  for  praying,  I  don't  know  yet 
what  I  have  to  pray  for,  on  her  account :  my  busi- 
ness is  to  work.  Show  me  what  I  can  do ;  and 
when  you  have  done  that,  it  will  be  full  time  to 
upbraid  me  with  not  doing  it." 

"  You  can  cut  that  fellow's  throat." 

"  It  will  take  a  long  arm  to  reach  him." 

"  I  suppose  it  is  as  easy  to  sail  to  the  Spanish 
Main  as  it  was  to  sail  round  the  world." 

"  My  good  sir,"  said  Amyas,  "  I  have  at  this 
moment  no  more  worldly  goods  than  my  clothes 
and  my  sword,  so  how  to  sail  to  the  Spanish  Main, 
I  don't  quite  see." 

"  And  do  you  suppose,  sir,  that  I  should  hint  to 


How  Salvation  Yeo  Slew  the  King    447 

you  of  such  a  voyage  if  I  meant  you  to  be  at  the 
charge  of  it?  No,  sir;  if  you  want  two  thousand 
pounds,  or  five,  to  fit  a  ship,  take  it !  Take  it,  sir ! 
I  hoarded  money  for  my  child :  and  now  I  will 
spend  it  to  avenge  her." 

Amyas  was  silent  for  a  while ;  the  old  man  still 
held  his  arm,  still  looked  up  steadfastly  and  fiercely 
in  his  face. 

"  Bring  me  home  that  man's  head,  and  take 
ship,  prizes  —  all !  Keep  the  gain,  sir,  and  give 
me  the  revenge  !  " 

"Gain?  Do  you  think  I  need  bribing,  sir? 
What  kept  me  silent  was  the  thought  of  my 
mother.  I  dare  not  go  without  her  leave." 

Salterne  made  a  gesture  of  impatience. 

"  I  dare  not,  sir ;  I  must  obey  my  parent,  what- 
ever else  I  do." 

"  Humph  ! "  said  he.  "  If  others  had  obeyed 
theirs  as  well !  —  But  you  are  right,  Captain  Leigh, 
right.  You  will  prosper,  whoever  else  does  not. 
Now,  sir,  good-night,  if  you  will  let  me  be  the  first 
to  say  so.  My  old  eyes  grow  heavy  early  now-a- 
days.  Perhaps  it 's  old  age,  perhaps  it  "s  sorrow." 

So  Amyas  departed  to  the  inn,  and  there,  to  his 
great  joy,  found  Gary  waiting  for  him,  from  whom 
he  learnt  details,  which  must  be  kept  for  another 
chapter,  and  which  I  shall  tell,  for  convenience* 
sake,  in  my  own  words  and  not  in  his. 


CHAPTER  XV 

HOW  MR.   JOHN   BRIMBLECOMBE  UNDERSTOOD 
THE  NATURE  OF  AN  OATH 

"  The  Kynge  of  Spayn  is  a  foul  paynim, 
And  lieveth  on  Mahound ; 
And  pity  it  were  that  lady  fayre 
Should  marry  a  heathen  hound." 

Kyng  Estmere. 

ABOUT  six  weeks  after  the  duel,  the  miller  at 
Stow  had  come  up  to  the  great  house  in 
much   tribulation,   to    borrow   the    bloodhounds. 
Rose  Salterne  had  vanished  in  the  night,  no  man 
knew  whither. 

Sir  Richard  was  in  Bideford :  but  the  old  steward 
took  on  himself  to  send  for  the  keepers,  and  down 
went  the  serving-men  to  the  mill  with  all  the  idle 
lads  of  the  parish  at  their  heels,  thinking  a  maiden- 
hunt  very  good  sport ;  and  of  course  taking  a  view 
of  the  case  as  favorable  as  possible  to  Rose. 

They  reviled  the  miller  and  his  wife  roundly  for 
hard-hearted  old  heathens ;  and  had  no  doubt  that 
they  had  driven  the  poor  maid  to  throw  herself 
over  cliff,  or  drown  herself  in  the  sea ;  while  all  the 
women  of  Stow,  on  the  other  hand,  were  of  unani- 
mous opinion  that  the  hussy  had  "  gone  off"  with 
some  bad  fellow ;  and  that  pride  was  sure  to  have 
a  fall,  and  so  forth. 

The  facts  of  the  case  were,  that  all  Rose's 
trinkets  were  left  behind,  so  that  she  had  at  least 
gone  off  honestly;  and  nothing  seemed  to  be 


John  Brimblecombe's  Oath       449 

missing,  but  some  of  her  linen,  which  old  Anthony 
the  steward  broadly  hinted  was  likely  to  be  found 
in  other  people's  boxes.  The  only  trace  was  a 
little  footmark  under  her  bedroom  window.  On 
that  the  bloodhound  was  laid  (of  course  in  leash), 
and  after  a  premonitory  whimper,  lifted  up  his 
mighty  voice,  and  started  bell-mouthed  through 
the  garden  gate,  and  up  the  lane,  towing  behind 
him  the  panting  keeper,  till  they  reached  the 
downs  above,  and  went  straight  away  for  Mars- 
landmouth,  where  the  whole  posse  comitatus  pulled 
up  breathless  at  the  door  of  Lucy  Passmore. 

Lucy,  as  perhaps  I  should  have  said  before,  was 
now  a  widow,  and  found  her  widowhood  not  alto- 
gether contrary  to  her  interest.  Her  augury  about 
her  old  man  had  been  fulfilled;  he  had  never 
returned  since  the  night  on  which  he  put  to  sea 
with  Eustace  and  the  Jesuits. 

"  Some  natural  tears  she  shed,  but  dried  them  soon  "  — 

as  many  of  them,  at  least,  as  were  not  required  for 
purposes  of  business ;  and  then  determined  to  pre- 
vent suspicion  by  a  bold  move ;  she  started  off  to 
Stow,  and  told  Lady  Grenville  a  most  pathetic 
tale:  how  her  husband  had  gone  out  to  pollock 
fishing,  and  never  returned:  but  how  she  had 
heard  horsemen  gallop  past  her  window  in  the 
dead  of  night,  and  was  sure  they  must  have  been 
the  Jesuits,  and  that  they  had  carried  off  her  old 
man  by  main  force,  and  probably,  after  making 
use  of  his  services,  had  killed  and  salted  him  down 
for  provision  on  their  voyage  back  to  the  Pope  at 
Rome ;  after  which  she  ended  by  entreating  pro- 
tection against  those  "  Popish  skulkers  up  to 
Chapel,"  who  were  sworn  to  do  her  a  mischief;  and 

Vol.  8—20 


450  Westward  Ho! 

by  an  appeal  to  Lady  Grenvi lie's  sense  of  justice, 
as  to  whether  the  queen  ought  not  to  allow  her  a 
pension,  for  having  had  her  heart's  love  turned  into 
a  sainted  martyr  by  the  hands  of  idolatrous 
traitors. 

Lady  Grenville  (who  had  a  great  opinion  of 
Lucy's  medical  skill,  and  always  sent  for  her  if  one 
of  the  children  had  a  "  housty,"  *.  e.  sore  throat) 
went  forth  and  pleaded  the  case  before  Sir  Richard 
with  such  effect,  that  Lucy  was  on  the  whole  better 
off  than  ever  for  the  next  two  or  three  years.  But 
now  —  what  had  she  to  do  with  Rose's  disappear- 
ance? and,  indeed,  where  was  she  herself?  Her 
door  was  fast;  and  round  it  her  flock  of  goats 
stood,  crying  in  vain  for  her  to  come  and  milk 
them ;  while  from  the  down  above,  her  donkeys, 
wandering  at  their  own  sweet  will,  answered  the 
bay  of  the  bloodhound  with  a  burst  of  harmony. 

"  They  'm  laughing  at  us,  keper,  they  neddies ; 
sure  enough,  we  'm  lost  our  labor  here." 

But  the  bloodhound,  after  working  about  the 
door  a  while,  turned  down  the  glen,  and  never 
stopped  till  he  reached  the  margin  of  the  sea. 

"  They  'm  taken  water.  Let 's  go  back,  and 
rout  out  the  old  witch's  house." 

"  'T  is  just  like  that  old  Lucy,  to  lock  a  poor 
maid  into  shame." 

And  returning,  they  attacked  the  cottage,  and 
by  a  general  plebiscitum,  ransacked  the  little 
dwelling,  partly  in  indignation,  and  partly,  if  the 
truth  be  told,  in  the  hope  of  plunder ;  but  plunder 
there  was  none.  Lucy  had  decamped  with  all  her 
movable  wealth,  saving  the  huge  black  cat  among 
the  embers,  who  at  the  sight  of  the  bloodhound 
vanished  up  the  chimney  (some  said  with  a  strong 


John  Brimblecombe's  Oath      451 

smell  of  brimstone),  and  being  viewed  outside,  was 
chased  into  the  woods,  where  she  lived,  I  doubt 
not,  many  happy  years,  a  scourge  to  all  the 
rabbits  of  the  glen. 

The  goats  and  donkeys  were  driven  off  up  to 
Stow;  and  the  mob  returned,  a  little  ashamed  of 
themselves  when  their  brief  wrath  was  past ;  and  a 
little  afraid,  too,  of  what  Sir  Richard  might  say. 

He,  when  he  returned,  sold  the  donkeys  and 
goats,  and  gave  the  money  to  the  poor,  promising 
to  refund  the  same,  if  Lucy  returned  and  gave  her- 
self up  to  justice.  But  Lucy  did  not  return ;  and 
her  cottage,  from  which  the  neighbors  shrank  as 
from  a  haunted  place,  remained  as  she  had  left  it, 
and  crumbled  slowly  down  to  four  fern-covered 
walls,  past  which  the  little  stream  went  murmuring 
on  from  pool  to  pool  —  the  only  voice,  for  many 
a  year  to  come,  which  broke  the  silence  of  that 
lonely  glen. 

A  few  days  afterwards,  Sir  Richard,  on  his  way 
from  Bideford  to  Stow,  looked  in  at  Clovelly 
Court,  and  mentioned,  with  a  "  by  the  by,"  news 
which  made  Will  Gary  leap  from  his  seat  almost 
to  the  ceiling.  What  it  was  we  know  already. 

"And  there  is  no  clue?"  asked  old  Gary;  for 
his  son  was  speechless. 

"Only  this;  I  hear  that  some  fellow  prowling 
about  the  cliffs  that  night  saw  a  pinnace  running 
for  Lundy." 

Will  rose,  and  went  hastily  out  of  the  room. 

In  half  an  hour  he  and  three  or  four  armed  ser- 
vants were  on  board  a  trawl  ing-skiff,  and  away  to 
Lundy.  He  did  not  return  for  three  days,  and 
then  brought  news :  that  an  elderly  man,  seemingly 
a  foreigner,  had  been  lodging  for  some  months 


452  Westward  Ho! 

past  in  a  part  of  the  ruined  Moresco  Castle,  which 
was  tenanted  by  one  John  Braund ;  that  a  few 
weeks  since  a  younger  man,  a  foreigner  also,  had 
joined  him  from  on  board  a  ship:  the  ship  a 
Flushinger,  or  Easterling  of  some  sort.  The  ship 
came  and  went  more  than  once;  and  the  young 
man  in  her.  A  few  days  since,  a  lady  and  her 
maid,  a  stout  woman,  came  with  him  up  to  the 
castle,  and  talked  with  the  elder  man  a  long  while 
in  secret;  abode  there  all  night;  and  then  all 
three  sailed  in  the  morning.  The  fishermen  on 
the  beach  had  heard  the  young  man  call  the  other 
father.  He  was  a  very  still  man,  much  as  a  mass- 
priest  might  be.  More  they  did  not  know,  or  did 
not  choose  to  know. 

Whereon  old  Gary  and  Sir  Richard  sent  Will 
on  a  second  trip  with  the  parish  constable  of  Hart- 
land  (in  which  huge  parish,  for  its  sins,  is  situate 
the  Isle  of  Lundy,  ten  miles  out  at  sea) ;  who  re- 
turned with  the  body  of  the  hapless  John  Braund, 
farmer,  fisherman,  smuggler,  etc. ;  which  worthy, 
after  much  fruitless  examination  (wherein  exam- 
inate  was  afflicted  with  extreme  deafness  and  loss 
of  memory),  departed  to  Exeter  gaol,  on  a  charge 
of  "  harboring  priests,  Jesuits,  gipsies,  and  other 
suspect  and  traitorous  persons." 

Poor  John  Braund,  whose  motive  for  entertain- 
ing the  said  ugly  customers  had  probably  been  not 
treason,  but  a  wife,  seven  children,  and  arrears  of 
rent,  did  not  thrive  under  the  change  from  the 
pure  air  of  Lundy  to  the  pestiferous  one  of  Exeter 
gaol,  made  infamous,  but  two  years  after  (if  I  rec- 
ollect right),  by  a  "black  assizes,"  nearly  as  fatal 
as  that  more  notorious  one  at  Oxford ;  for  in  it, 
"  whether  by  the  stench  of  the  prisoners,  or  by  a 


John  Brimblecombe's  Oath       453 

stream  of  foul  air,"  judge,  jury,  counsel,  and  by- 
standers, numbering  among  them  many  members 
of  the  best  families  in  Devon,  sickened  in  court, 
and  died  miserably  within  a  few  days. 

John  Braund,  then,  took  the  gaol-fever  in  a 
week,  and  died  raving  in  that  noisome  den :  his 
secret,  if  he  had  one,  perished  with  him,  and  noth- 
ing but  vague  suspicion  was  left  as  to  Rose  Sal- 
terne's  fate.  That  she  had  gone  off  with  the 
Spaniard,  few  doubted ;  but  whither,  and  in  what 
character?  On  that  last  subject,  be  sure,  no  mercy 
was  shown  to  her  by  many  a  Bideford  dame,  who 
had  hated  the  poor  girl  simply  for  her  beauty ;  and 
by  many  a  country  lady,  who  had  "  always  expected 
that  the  girl  would  be  brought  to  ruin  by  the  ab- 
surd notice,  beyond  what  her  station  had  a  right 
to,  which  was  taken  of  her,"  while  every  young 
maiden  aspired  to  fill  the  throne  which  Rose  had 
abdicated.  So  that,  on  the  whole,  Bideford  con- 
sidered itself  as  going  on  as  well  without  poor 
Rose  as  it  had  done  with  her,  or  even  better.  And 
though  she  lingered  in  some  hearts  still  as  a  fair 
dream,  the  business  and  the  bustle  of  each  day 
soon  swept  that  dream  away,  and  her  place  knew 
her  no  more. 

And  Will  Gary? 

He  was  for  a  while  like  a  man  distracted.  He 
heaped  himself  with  all  manner  of  superfluous  re- 
proaches, for  having  (as  he  said)  first  brought  the 
Rose  into  disgrace,  and  then  driven  her  into  the  arms 
of  the  Spaniard ;  while  St.  Leger,  who  was  a  sensi- 
ble man  enough,  tried  in  vain  to  persuade  him  that 
the  fault  was  not  his  at  all ;  that  the  two  must  have 
been  attached  to  each  other  long  before  the  quar- 
rel; that  it  must  have  ended  so,  sooner  or  later; 


454  Westward  Ho ! 

that  old  Salterne's  harshness,  rather  than  Gary's 
wrath,  had  hastened  the  catastrophe;  and  finally, 
that  the  Rose  and  her  fortunes  were,  now  that  she 
had  eloped  with  a  Spaniard,  not  worth  troubling 
their  heads  about.  Poor  Will  would  not  be  so 
comforted.  He  wrote  off  to  Frank  at  Whitehall, 
telling  him  the  whole  truth,  calling  himself  all 
fools  and  villains,  and  entreating  Frank's  forgive- 
ness ;  to  which  he  received  an  answer,  in  which 
Frank  said  that  Will  had  no  reason  to  accuse  him- 
self; that  these  strange  attachments  were  due  to  a 
synastria,  or  sympathy  of  the  stars,  which  ruled  the 
destinies  of  each  person,  to  fight  against  which 
was  to  fight  against  the  heavens  themselves ;  that 
he,  as  a  brother  of  the  Rose,  was  bound  to  believe, 
nay,  to  assert  at  the  sword's  point  if  need  were, 
that  the  incomparable  Rose  of  Torridge  could 
make  none  but  a  worthy  and  virtuous  choice ;  and 
that  to  the  man  whom  she  had  honored  by  her 
affection  was  due  on  their  part,  Spaniard  and 
Papist  though  he  might  be,  all  friendship,  worship, 
and  loyal  faith  for  evermore. 

And  honest  Will  took  it  all  for  gospel,  little 
dreaming  what  agony  of  despair,  what  fearful  sus- 
picions, what  bitter  prayers,  this  letter  had  cost  to 
the  gentle  heart  of  Francis  Leigh. 

He  showed  the  letter  triumphantly  to  St.  Leger ; 
and  he  was  quite  wise  enough  to  gainsay  no  word 
of  it,  at  least  aloud ;  but  quite  wise  enough,  also, 
to  believe  in  secret  that  Frank  looked  on  the 
matter  in  quite  a  different  light ;  however,  he  con- 
tented himself  with  saying: 

"  The  man  is  an  angel  as  his  mother  is  I "  and 
there  the  matter  dropped  for  a  few  days,  till  one 
came  forward  who  had  no  mind  to  let  it  drop,  and 


John  Brimblecombe's  Oath       455 

that  was  Jack  Brimblecombe,  now  curate  of  Hart- 
land  town,  and  "passing  rich  on  forty  pounds  a 
year." 

41 1  hope  no  offence,  Mr.  William ;  but  when  are 
you  and  the  rest  going  after  —  after  her?"  The 
name  stuck  in  his  throat. 

Gary  was  taken  aback. 

"What's  that  to  thee,  Catiline  the  blood- 
drinker?"  asked  he,  trying  to  laugh  it  off. 

"  What?  Don't  laugh  at  me,  sir,  for  it 's  no 
laughing  matter.  I  drank  that  night  naught 
worse,  I  expect,  than  red  wine.  Whatever  it  was, 
we  swore  our  oaths,  Mr.  Gary ;  and  oaths  are  oaths, 
say  I." 

"  Of  course,  Jack,  of  course ;  but  to  go  to  look 
for  her  —  and  when  we  Ve  found  her,  cut  her  lover's 
throat.  Absurd,  Jack,  even  if  she  were  worth  look- 
ing for,  or  his  throat  worth  cutting.  Tut,  tut, 
tut " 

But  Jack  looked  steadfastly  in  his  face,  and  after 
some  silence : 

"  How  far  is  it  to  the  Caracas,  then,  sir?" 

"  What  is  that  to  thee,  man?  " 

"  Why,  he  was  made  governor  thereof,  I  hear ; 
so  that  would  be  the  place  to  find  her  ?  " 

"You  don't  mean  to  go  thither  to  seek  her?" 
shouted  Gary,  forcing  a  laugh. 

"  That  depends  on  whether  I  can  go,  sir ;  but  if 
I  can  scrape  the  money  together,  or  get  a  berth  on 
board  some  ship,  why,  God's  will  must  be  done." 

Will  looked  at  him,  to  see  if  he  had  been  drink- 
.ng,  or  gone  mad;  but  the  little  pigs'  eyes  were 
both  sane  and  sober. 

Will  knew  no  answer.  To  laugh  at  the  poor 
fellow  was  easy  enough;  to  deny  that  he  was 


456  Westward  Ho ! 

right,  that  he  was  a  hero  and  cavalier,  outdoing 
romance  itself  in  faithfulness,  not  so  easy;  and 
Gary,  in  the  first  impulse,  wished  him  at  the  bot- 
tom of  the  bay  for  shaming  him.  Of  course,  his 
own  plan  of  letting  ill  alone  was  the  rational,  pru° 
dent,  irreproachable  plan,  and  just  what  any  gentle- 
man in  his  senses  would  have  done ;  but  here  was 
a  vulgar,  fat  curate,  out  of  his  senses,  determined 
not  to  let  ill  alone,  but  to  do  something,  as  Gary 
felt  in  his  heart,  of  a  far  diviner  stamp. 

"  Well,"  said  Jack,  in  his  stupid  steadfast  way, 
"  it 's  a  very  bad  look-out ;  but  mother  's  pretty 
well  off,  if  father  dies,  and  the  maidens  are  stout 
wenches  enough,  and  will  make  tidy  servants, 
please  the  Lord.  And  you  '11  see  that  they  come 
to  no  harm,  Mr.  William,  for  old  acquaintance' 
sake,  if  I  never  come  back." 

Gary  was  silent  with  amazement. 

"  And,  Mr.  William,  you  know  me  for  an  honest 
man,  I  hope.  Will  you  lend  me  a  five  pound,  and 
take  my  books  in  pawn  for  them,  just  to  help  me 
out?" 

"  Are  you  mad,  or  in  a  dream  ?  You  will  never 
find  her ! " 

"  That 's  no  reason  why  I  should  n't  do  my  duty 
in  looking  for  her,  Mr.  William." 

"  But,  my  good  fellow,  even  if  you  get  to  the 
Indies,  you  will  be  clapt  into  the  Inquisition,  and 
burnt  alive,  as  sure  as  your  name  is  Jack." 

"  I  know  that,"  said  he,  in  a  doleful  tone ;  "  and 
a  sore  struggle  of  the  flesh  I  have  had  about  it ;  for 
I  am  a  great  coward,  Mr.  William,  a  dirty  coward, 
and  always  was,  as  you  know :  but  maybe  the  Lord 
will  take  care  of  me,  as  He  does  of  little  children 
and  drunken  men ;  and  if  not,  Mr.  Will,  I  'd  sooner 


John  Brimblecombe's  Oath       457 

burn,  and  have  it  over,  than  go  on  this  way  any 
longer,  I  would  !  "  and  Jack  burst  out  blubbering. 
~  "  What  way,  my  dear  old  lad  ?  "  said  Will,  softened 
as  he  well  might  be. 

"Why,  not — not  to  know  whether — whether  — 
whether  she 's  married  to  him  or  not  —  her  that  I 
looked  up  to  as  an  angel  of  God,  as  pure  as  the 
light  of  day ;  and  knew  she  was  too  good  for  a 
poor  pot-head  like  me ;  and  prayed  for  her  every 
night,  God  knows,  that  she  might  marry  a  king,  if 
there  was  one  fit  for  her  —  and  I  not  to  know 
whether  she 's  living  in  sin  or  not,  Mr.  William.  — 
It 's  more  than  I  can  bear,  and  there 's  an  end  of 
it.  And  if  she  is  married  to  him  they  keep  no 
faith  with  heretics ;  they  can  dissolve  the  marriage, 
or  make  away  with  her  into  the  Inquisition ;  burn 
her,  Mr.  Gary,  as  soon  as  burn  me,  the  devils 
incarnate !  " 

Gary  shuddered ;  the  fact,  true  and  palpable  as 
it  was,  had  never  struck  him  before. 

"  Yes !  or  make  her  deny  her  God  by  torments, 

if  she  has  n't  done  it  already  for  love  to  that 1 

know  how  love  will  make  a  body  sell  his  soul,  for 
I  Ve  been  in  love.  Don't  you  laugh  at  me,  Mr. 
Will,  or  I  shall  go  mad !  " 

11  God  knows,  I  was  never  less  inclined  to  laugh 
at  you  in  my  life,  my  brave  old  Jack." 

"  Is  it  so,  then  ?  Bless  you  for  that  word  !  "  and 
Jack  held  out  his  hand.  "  But  what  will  become 
of  my  soul,  after  my  oath,  if  I  don't  seek  her  out, 
just  to  speak  to  her,  to  warn  her,  for  God's  sake, 
even  if  it  did  no  good ;  just  to  set  before  her  the 
Lord's  curse  on  idolatry  and  Antichrist,  and  those 
who  deny  Him  for  the  sake  of  any  creature,  though 
I  can't  think  he  would  be  hard  on  her,  —  for  who 


458  Westward  Ho  > 

could  ?  But  I  must  speak  all  the  same.  The  Lord 
has  laid  the  burden  on  me,  and  done  it  must  be. 
God  help  me !  " 

"Jack,"  said  Gary,  "if  this  is  your  duty,  it  is 
others'." 

"  No,  sir,  I  don't  say  that ;  you  're  a  layman, 
but  I  am  a  deacon,  and  the  chaplain  of  you  all, 
and  sworn  to  seek  out  Christ's  sheep  scattered  up 
and  down  this  naughty  world,  and  that  innocent 
lamb  first  of  all." 

"You  have  sheep  at  Hartland,  Jack,  already." 

"  There 's  plenty  better  than  I  will  tend  them, 
when  I  am  gone ;  but  none  that  will  tend  her,  be- 
cause none  love  her  like  me,  and  they  won't  ven- 
ture. Who  will?  It  can't  be  expected,  and  no 
shame  to  them?  " 

"  I  wonder  what  Amyas  Leigh  would  say  to  all 
this,  if  he  were  at  home  ?  " 

"Say?  He'd  do.  He  isn't  one  for  talking. 
He  'd  go  through  fire  and  water  for  her,  you  trust 
him,  Will  Gary ;  and  call  me  an  ass  if  he  won't." 

"  Will  you  wait,  then,  till  he  comes  back,  and 
ask  him?  " 

"  He  may  not  be  back  for  a  year  and  more." 

"  Hear  reason,  Jack.  If  you  will  wait  like  a 
rational  and  patient  man,  instead  of  rushing  blind- 
fold on  your  ruin,  something  may  be  done." 

"  You  think  so  !  " 

"  I  cannot  promise ;  but " 

"  But  promise  me  one  thing.  Do  you  tell  Mr. 
Frank  what  I  say  —  or  rather,  I'll  warrant,  if  I 
knew  the  truth,  he  has  said  the  very  same  thing 
himself  already." 

"  You  are  out  there,  old  man ;  for  here  is  his 
own  handwriting." 


John  Brimblecombe's  Oath       459 

Jack  read  the  letter  and  sighed  bitterly. 

"  Well,  I  did  take  him  for  another  guess  sort  of 
fine  gentleman.  Still,  if  my  duty  isn't  his,  it's 
mine  all  the  same.  I  judge  no  man;  but  I  go, 
Mr.  Gary." 

"  But  go  you  shall  not  till  Amyas  returns.  As 
I  live,  I  will  tell  your  father,  Jack,  unless  you  prom- 
ise ;  and  you  dare  not  disobey  him." 

"  I  don't  know  even  that,  for  conscience'  sake," 
said  Jack,  doubtfully. 

"  At  least,  you  stay  and  dine  here,  old  fellow, 
and  we  will  settle  whether  you  are  to  break  the 
fifth  commandment  or  not,  over  good  brewed 
sack." 

Now  a  good  dinner  was  (as  we  know)  what  Jack 
loved,  and  loved  too  oft  in  vain ;  so  he  submitted 
for  the  nonce,  and  Gary  thought,  ere  he  went,  that 
he  had  talked  him  pretty  well  round.  At  least  he 
went  home,  and  was  seen  no  more  for  a  week. 

But  at  the  end  of  that  time  he  returned,  and 
said  with  a  joyful  voice  — 

"  I  have  settled  all,  Mr.  Will.  The  parson  of 
Welcombe  will  serve  my  church  for  two  Sundays, 
and  I  am  away  for  London  town,  to  speak  to  Mr. 
Frank." 

"  To  London  ?     How  wilt  get  there  ?  *' 

"  On  Shanks  his  mare,"  said  Jack,  pointing  to 
his  bandy  legs.  "  But  I  expect  I  can  get  a  lift  on 
board  of  a  coaster  so  far  as  Bristol,  and  it's  no  way 
on  to  signify,  I  hear." 

Gary  tried  in  vain  to  dissuade  him;  and  then 
forced  on  him  a  small  loan,  with  which  away  went 
Jack,  and  Gary  heard  no  more  of  him  for  three 
weeks. 

At  last  he  walked  into  Clovelly  Court  again  just 


460  Westward  Ho  1 

before  supper-time,  thin  and  leg-weary,  and  sat 
himself  down  among  the  serving-men  till  Will 
appeared. 

Will  took  him  up  above  the  salt,  and  made 
much  of  him  (which  indeed  the  honest  fellow  much 
needed),  and  after  supper  asked  him  in  private 
how  he  had  sped. 

"I  have  learnt  a  lesson,  Mr.  William.  I've 
learnt  that  there  is  one  on  earth  loves  her  better 
than  I,  if  she  had  but  had  the  wit  to  have  taken 
him." 

"  But  what  says  he  of  going  to  seek  her?  " 

"  He  says  what  I  say,  Go  !  and  he  says  what  you 
say,  Wait." 

"  Go  ?  Impossible !  How  can  that  agree  with 
his  letter? 

"  That 's  no  concern  of  mine.  Of  course,  being 
nearer  heaven  than  I  am,  he  sees  clearer  what  he 
should  say  and  do  than  I  can  see  for  him.  Oh, 
Mr.  Will,  that 's  not  a  man,  he 's  an  angel  of  God ; 
but  he's  dying,  Mr.  Will." 

"Dying?" 

"  Yes,  faith,  of  love  for  her.  I  can  see  it  in  his 
eyes,  and  hear  it  in  his  voice  ;  but  I  am  of  tougher 
hide  and  stiffer  clay,  and  so  you  see  I  can't  die 
even  if  I  tried.  But  I  '11  obey  my  betters,  and 
wait." 

And  so  Jack  went  home  to  his  parish  that  very 
evening,  weary  as  he  was,  in  spite  of  all  entreaties 
to  pass  the  night  at  'Clovelly.  But  he  had  left 
behind  him  thoughts  in  Gary's  mind,  which  gave 
their  owner  no  rest  by  day  or  night,  till  the  touch 
of  a  seeming  accident  made  them  all  start  suddenly 
into  shape,  as  a  touch  of  the  freezing  water  covers 
it  in  an  instant  with  crystals  of  ice. 


John  Brimblecombe's  Oath       461 

He  was  lounging  (so  he  told  Amyas)  one  murky 
day  on  Bideford  quay,  when  up  came  Mr.  Salterne. 
Gary  had  shunned  him  of  late,  partly  from  delicacy, 
partly  from  dislike  of  his  supposed  hard-hearted- 
ness.  But  this  time  they  happened  to  meet  full ; 
and  Gary  could  not  pass  without  speaking  to 
him. 

"  Well,  Mr.  Salterne,  and  how  goes  on  the  ship- 
ping trade?" 

"  Well  enough,  sir,  if  some  of  you  young  gentle- 
men would  but  follow  Mr.  Leigh's  example,  and 
go  forth  to  find  us  stay-at-homes  new  markets  for 
our  ware." 

"  What?  you  want  to  be  rid  of  us,  eh?  " 

"  I  don't  know  why  I  should,  sir.  We  sha'n't 
cross  each  other  now,  sir,  whatever  might  have 
been  once.  But  if  I  were  you,  I  should  be  in  the 
Indies  about  now,  if  I  were  not  fighting  the  queen's 
battles  nearer  home." 

"  In  the  Indies?  I  should  make  but  a  poor 
hand  of  Drake's  trade."  And  so  the  conversation 
dropped ;  but  Gary  did  not  forget  the  hint. 

"  So,  lad,  to  make  an  end  of  a  long  story,"  said 
he  to  Amyas ;  "  if  you  are  minded  to  take  the  old 
man's  offer,  so  am  I :  and  Westward-ho  with  you, 
come  foul  come  fair." 

"  It  will  be  but  a  wild-goose  chase,  Will." 

"  If  she  is  with  him,  we  shall  find  her  at  La 
Guayra.  If  she  is  not,  and  the  villain  has  cast  her 
off  down  the  wind,  that  will  be  only  an  additional 
reason  for  making  an  example  of  him." 

"  And  if  neither  of  them  are  there,  Will,  the 
Plate-fleets  will  be ;  so  it  will  be  our  own  shame  if 
we  come  home  empty-handed.  But  will  your 
father  let  you  run  such  a  risk?" 


462  Westward  Ho ! 

"  My  father !  "  said  Gary,  laughing.  "  He  has 
just  now  so  good  hope  of  a  long  string  of  little 
Carys  to  fill  my  place,  that  he  will  be  in  no  lack  of 
an  heir,  come  what  will." 

"Little  Carys?" 

"  I  tell  you  truth.  I  think  he  must  have  had  a 
sly  sup  of  that  fountain  of  perpetual  youth,  which 
our  friend  Don  Guzman's  grandfather  went  to  seek 
in  Florida ;  for  some  twelvemonth  since,  he  must 
needs  marry  a  tenant's  buxom  daughter;  and 
Mistress  Abishag  Jewell  has  brought  him  one  fat 
baby  already.  So  I  shall  go,  back  to  Ireland,  or 
with  you:  but  somewhere.  I  can't  abide  the 
thing's  squalling,  any  more  than  I  can  seeing  Mis- 
tress Abishag  sitting  in  my  poor  dear  mother's 
place,  and  informing  me  every  other  day  that  she 
is  come  of  an  illustrious  house,  because  she  is  (or 
is  not)  third  cousin  seven  times  removed  to  my 
father's  old  friend,  Bishop  Jewell  of  glorious 
memory.  I  had  three-parts  of  a  quarrel  with  the 
dear  old  man  the  other  day ;  for  after  one  of  her 
peacock-bouts,  I  could  n't  for  the  life  of  me  help 
saying,  that  as  the  Bishop  had  written  an  Apology 
for  the  people  of  England,  my  father  had  better 
conjure  up  his  ghost  to  write  an  apology  for  him, 
and  head  it,  '  Why  green  heads  should  grow  on 
gray  shoulders/  " 

"  You  impudent  villain !  And  what  did  he 
say?" 

•'  Laughed  till  he  cried  again,  and  told  me  if  I 
did  not  like  it  I  might  leave  it ;  which  is  just  what 
I  intend  to  do.  Only  mind,  if  we  go,  we  must 
needs  take  Jack  Brimblecombe  with  us,  or  he  will 
surely  heave  himself  over  Harty  Point,  and  his 
ghost  will  haunt  us  to  our  dying  day." 


John  Brimblecombe's  Oath       463 

"  Jack  shall  go.  None  deserves  it  better." 
After  which  there  was  a  long  consultation  on 
practical  matters,  and  it  was  concluded  that  Amyas 
should  go  up  to  London  and  sound  Frank  and  his 
mother  before  any  further  steps  were  taken.  The 
other  brethren  of  the  Rose  were  scattered  far  and 
wide,  each  at  his  post,  and  St.  Leger  had  returned 
to  his  uncle,  so  that  it  would  be  unfair  to  them,  as 
well  as  a  considerable  delay,  to  demand  of  them 
any  fulfilment  of  their  vow.  And,  as  Amyas 
sagely  remarked,  "  Too  many  cooks  spoil  the 
broth,  and  half-a-dozen  gentlemen  aboard  one 
ship  are  as  bad  as  two  kings  of  Brentford." 

With  which  maxim  he  departed  next  morning 
for  London,  leaving  Yeo  with  Gary. 


END  OF  VOL.  L 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


A     001  002  408     1 


